teosinte

noun

te·​o·​sin·​te ˌtā-ō-ˈsin-tē 

: any of several tall annual or perennial grasses (genus Zea) of Mexico and Central America that have small dark triangular seeds and include two species (Z. mays parviglumis and Z. m. mexicana synonym Z. mexicana) which are closely related to and often considered ancestral to corn

Examples of teosinte in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Early farmers there domesticated maize from a kind of grass called teosinte. — Discover Magazine, 2 July 2024

Word History

Etymology

Mexican Spanish, from Nahuatl teōcintli, from teōtl god + cintli dried ears of maize

First Known Use

circa 1877, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for teosinte

• blueprint
• footprint
• imprint
• misprint
• newsprint
• nonprint
• preprint
• reprint
• clint
• dint
• glint
• hint