: an ancient tetraploid wheat (Triticum dicoccum) that has spikelets with two hard red grains which remain in the glumes after threshing and that has been cultivated especially in southwest Asia, northeast Africa, and Europe
Examples of emmer in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The researchers found that the leftovers contain barley and emmer grains, as well as seeds from a white goosefoot plant.
—
Julia Binswanger, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Feb. 2024
In Anatolia, Turkey, kavilca wheat, a type of emmer that’s been grown since Neolithic times, is not only more nutritious than today’s bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) but, thanks to its tightfitting husks, is also resistant to Fusarium head blight, a devious fungus that is threatening wheat crops.
—Washington Post, 11 Feb. 2022
Enthusiasm has cropped up for wheats produced locally without chemicals, and ancient varieties, such as einkorn, spelt and emmer.
—WSJ, 15 May 2021
The people interested in whole grains and ancient grains overlap enough that in the U.S., most companies sell einkorn, emmer and spelt as whole grains, Dawson says.
—Leslie Nemo, Discover Magazine, 23 Apr. 2021
Kavilca and other ancient varieties of emmer may also have genetic resistance to wheat blast, a new disease that is decimating crops from Brazil to Bangladesh.
—Washington Post, 11 Feb. 2022
Farro is the overarching Italian name for three forms of ancient wheat: farro piccolo, or einkorn; farro medio, or emmer; and farro grande, or spelt.
—Casey Barber, CNN, 27 Oct. 2021
Meuer and his wife, Leslie, grow, harvest, stone-mill and sell a wide variety of flours including rye, spelt, soft red winter wheat, oat, durum, einkorn, emmer and corn for polenta.
—Jennifer Rude Klett, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 17 Nov. 2020
People who have been diagnosed with celiac disease have to completely avoid gluten, found in wheat, rye and barley, as well as variations of wheat including spelt, emmer (farro), einkorn and Kamut.
—Carrie Dennett, Washington Post, 4 Nov. 2019
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Julia Binswanger, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Feb. 2024
In Anatolia, Turkey, kavilca wheat, a type of emmer that’s been grown since Neolithic times, is not only more nutritious than today’s bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) but, thanks to its tightfitting husks, is also resistant to Fusarium head blight, a devious fungus that is threatening wheat crops.
—Washington Post, 11 Feb. 2022
Enthusiasm has cropped up for wheats produced locally without chemicals, and ancient varieties, such as einkorn, spelt and emmer.
—WSJ, 15 May 2021
The people interested in whole grains and ancient grains overlap enough that in the U.S., most companies sell einkorn, emmer and spelt as whole grains, Dawson says.
—Leslie Nemo, Discover Magazine, 23 Apr. 2021
Kavilca and other ancient varieties of emmer may also have genetic resistance to wheat blast, a new disease that is decimating crops from Brazil to Bangladesh.
—Washington Post, 11 Feb. 2022
Farro is the overarching Italian name for three forms of ancient wheat: farro piccolo, or einkorn; farro medio, or emmer; and farro grande, or spelt.
—Casey Barber, CNN, 27 Oct. 2021
Meuer and his wife, Leslie, grow, harvest, stone-mill and sell a wide variety of flours including rye, spelt, soft red winter wheat, oat, durum, einkorn, emmer and corn for polenta.
—Jennifer Rude Klett, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 17 Nov. 2020
People who have been diagnosed with celiac disease have to completely avoid gluten, found in wheat, rye and barley, as well as variations of wheat including spelt, emmer (farro), einkorn and Kamut.
—Carrie Dennett, Washington Post, 4 Nov. 2019
Cite this Entry
“Emmer.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/emmer. Accessed 15 Jul. 2025.
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emmer
noun
em·mer
ˈem-ər 
: an ancient wheat having spikelets with two hard red kernels
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