rice

rice

noun \ˈrīs\

Definition of RICE

: the starchy seeds of an annual southeast Asian cereal grass (Oryza sativa) that are cooked and used for food; also : this cereal grass that is widely cultivated in warm climates for its seeds and by-products — compare wild rice

Examples of RICE

1. Rice is the main crop of the country.

Illustration of RICE

Origin of RICE

Middle English rys, from Anglo-French ris, from Old Italian riso, from Greek oryza, oryzon, of Iranian origin; akin to Pashto wriže rice; akin to Sanskrit vrīhi rice

First Known Use: 13th century

Rhymes with RICE

dice, gneiss, ice, lyse, nice, pice, price, slice, spice, splice, syce, thrice, trice, twice, vice, vise

RICE

abbreviation

Definition of RICE

rest, ice, compression, elevation

Rice

biographical name \ˈrīs\

Definition of RICE

Condoleezza 1954–     United States secy. of state (2005–09)

Rice

biographical name

Definition of RICE

Elmer Leopold 1892–1967 originally Elmer Reizenstein Am. dram.

rice

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Rice (Oryza sativa).—Grant Heilman Photography

Edible starchy cereal grain and the annual grass (Oryza sativa, family Poaceae) that produces it. Roughly one-half of the world's population, including almost all of East and Southeast Asia, depends on rice as its principal staple food. First cultivated in India more than 4,000 years ago, rice was planted gradually westward and is now cultivated widely in flooded fields (paddies) and river deltas of tropical, semitropical, and temperate regions. Growing to about 4 ft (1.2 m) in height, rice has long, flat leaves and an inflorescence made up of spikelets bearing flowers that produce the fruit, or grain. Removal of just the husk produces brown rice, containing 8% protein and iron, calcium, and B vitamins. Removal of the bran layer leaves white rice, greatly diminished in nutrients. Enriched white rice has added B vitamins and minerals. So-called wild rice (Zizania aquatica or Zizania palustris) is a coarse annual grass of the same family whose cereal grain, now often considered a delicacy, has long been an important food of North American Indians.