buckwheat

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buck·wheat

(bŭk′wēt′, -hwēt′)

a. An annual Asian plant (Fagopyrum esculentum) having clusters of small whitish or pinkish flowers and small, starchy, triangular seeds.

b. The edible seeds of this plant, used either whole or ground into flour.

2. Any of several similar or related plants.

[Probably partial translation of Middle Dutch boecweite : boek, beech (from the resemblance of the three-sided seeds of buckwheat to beechnuts ); see bhāgo- in Indo-European roots + weite, wheat.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

buckwheat

(ˈbʌkˌwiːt)

1. (Plants) any of several polygonaceous plants of the genus Fagopyrum, esp F. esculentum, which has fragrant white flowers and is cultivated, esp in the US, for its seeds

2. (Plants) the edible seeds of this plant, ground into flour or used as animal fodder

3. (Plants) the flour obtained from these seeds

[C16: from Middle Dutch boecweite, from boeke beech + weite wheat, from the resemblance of their seeds to beechnuts]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

buck•wheat

(ˈbʌkˌʰwit, -ˌwit)

n.

1. any of several plants of the genus Fagopyrum, of the buckwheat family, cultivated for their edible triangular seeds.

2. the seeds of this plant, made into flour or a cereal.

3. Also called buck′wheat flour`. flour made by grinding buckwheat seeds.

[1540–50; obsolete buck (Old English bōc beech) + wheat; so called because its seeds resemble beechnuts]

buck′wheat`like`, adj.

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Noun	1.	buckwheat - a member of the genus Fagopyrum; annual Asian plant with clusters of small pinkish white flowers and small edible triangular seeds which are used whole or ground into flour Fagopyrum esculentum, Polygonum fagopyrum buckwheat - grain ground into flour herb, herbaceous plant - a plant lacking a permanent woody stem; many are flowering garden plants or potherbs; some having medicinal properties; some are pests genus Polygonum, Polygonum - diverse genus of herbs or woody subshrubs of north temperate regions
	2.	buckwheat - grain ground into flour food grain, grain, cereal - foodstuff prepared from the starchy grains of cereal grasses buckwheat, Fagopyrum esculentum, Polygonum fagopyrum - a member of the genus Fagopyrum; annual Asian plant with clusters of small pinkish white flowers and small edible triangular seeds which are used whole or ground into flour

Translations

tatar

heljda

buckwheat

[ˈbʌkwiːt] N → alforfón m, trigo m sarraceno

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

buckwheat

[ˈbʌk^hwiːt] n (= grain) → sarrasin m (= flour) → farine f de blé noir

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

buckwheat

[ˈbʌkˌwiːt] n → grano saraceno

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

References in classic literature ?

The bailiff came in, and said everything, thank God, was doing well; but informed him that the buckwheat in the new drying machine had been a little scorched.

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The richer or the more energetic among them sowed buckwheat for home consumption; sometimes they raised a crop of barley or oats, but wheat was unknown.

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Hill-food is very simple, but with buckwheat and Indian corn, and rice and red pepper, and little fish out of the stream in the valley, and honey from the flue-like hives built in the stone walls, and dried apricots, and turmeric, and wild ginger, and bannocks of flour, a devout woman can make good things, and it was a full bowl that the priest carried to the Bhagat.

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Dawn just tinted with purple and white the waves and plain; through the dim light, melancholy fir-trees waved their tender branches over the pebbles, and long flights of crows were skimming with their black wings the shimmering fields of buckwheat. In a quarter of an hour it would be clear daylight; the wakened birds announced it to all nature.

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Some must have the flowering crocus, the wood-starring dogwood, the voice of bluebird--even so gross a reminder as the farewell handshake of the retiring buckwheat and oyster before they can welcome the Lady in Green to their dull bosoms.

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Phoebe bade it be a good old chicken during her absence, and promised to bring it a little bag of buckwheat.

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This she filled with the finest buckwheat grains, and tied it round the Princess' neck; this done, she cut a little hole in the bag, so that the grains would strew the whole road wherever the Princess went.

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they will have their buckwheat cooked before we reach our quarters."

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I'll bet she meets us at the door of Heaven with a big pitcher of water, and a lot of buckwheat cakes, hot, and toasted on both sides, like Bob and me was fond of.

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As the enraptured Ichabod fancied all this, and as he rolled his great green eyes over the fat meadow lands, the rich fields of wheat, of rye, of buckwheat, and Indian corn, and the orchards burdened with ruddy fruit, which surrounded the warm tenement of Van Tassel, his heart yearned after the damsel who was to inherit these domains, and his imagination expanded with the idea, how they might be readily turned into cash, and the money invested in immense tracts of wild land, and shingle palaces in the wilderness.

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The pretty girl went upstairs, leaving Rene to finish his porringer of buckwheat in boiled milk.

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"There'll be a check at the post-office, I know, and we'll transmute it into beautiful buckwheat flour, a gallon of maple syrup, and a new pair of overshoes for you."