The edible grains or seeds from certain types of grasses, which are rich in carbohydrates and provide essential nutrients like fiber, vitamins, and minerals, are what we call cereals. This category includes barley, corn (maize), millet, oats, rice, rye, and wheat.
The word is a Latin term, Cerealis, meaning “relating to the Roman goddess of agriculture, Ceres“. She was named after her primary function, which was to encourage plants to grow, in Latin crēscō.
Wheat, the white
If you’ve ever confused “wheat” with “white,” or even if you haven’t but thought they seemed strangely similar, you’re not entirely wrong. The word “wheat” traces its origin back to the Proto-Germanic *hwītijaną, derived from *hwītaz, meaning “white.” This likely refers to the light color of wheat compared to other grains. This Germanic root is found in several Germanic languages (excluding Dutch) and was also adopted by their Lithuanian neighbors. The Latvian word is a cognate, that traces back to the Proto-Indo-European root *ḱweyt-, meaning “to shine.”
Another significant family of languages, the Turkic languages, carried the word boguday from the eastern steppes all the way to the west. As the Turkic-speaking peoples expanded their influence across vast territories, they brought not only their customs and traditions but also their language. This migration of language and culture is evident in the Hungarian word búza, which is derived from it.
From grain to flour
Slaves also share an ancient root for the word “wheat,” pьšenica, which originates from pьšeno, meaning “millet.” This term can be traced back to the Proto-Indo-European root peys, meaning “to grind,” a reference to the common practice of crushing cereal grains into flour. Similarly, the Celtic languages derive their word for wheat from a different process, winnowing, reflected in the term nixtos “winnowed.” If you look further south on the map, you’ll notice that the Latin term triticum, which is also the scientific name for wheat, comes from the verb terō, meaning “grazing or grinding.
In addition to triticum, there are three other Latin terms associated with wheat: frumentum, granum, and bladum, making the etymology map of wheat particularly intricate. The word frumentum also originates from a verb, fruor, meaning “to enjoy,” which is the same root that gave rise to the word “fruit.” Granum is straightforward to recognize, as it directly translates to “grain” and as we saw it is also connected to the concept of “corn.” Finally, bladum, over the centuries, it underwent significant semantic changes: it was borrowed from Frankish, originally referred to “field produce,” it stems from the Proto-Germanic blēduz, “flower, leaf, blossom.”
