buckwheat

== English == === Etymology === Ultimately from Middle Low German bōkwête (“beech-wheat”) (so called because of its triangular seeds, which resemble the much larger seeds of the beech nut from the beech tree, and the fact that it is used like wheat), probably via Middle Dutch boecweit, boecweite. Compare German Buchweizen. Despite the name, buckwheat is not related to wheat, as it is not a grass. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈbʌkʍiːt/, /ˈbʌkwiːt/ === Noun === buckwheat (usually uncountable, plural buckwheats) An Asian plant, of the species Fagopyrum esculentum. [from 16th c.] (cooking) The fruit of this plant used as a pseudocereal. (Western US) Any of the wild buckwheats in the genus Eriogonum. (slang) A slow and painful murder by the Mafia as a warning to others. (derogatory, offensive, ethnic slur, US) Curly hair of a black person. (slang) Pubic hair. ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Translations ==== === Further reading === buckwheat on Wikipedia.Wikipedia Fagopyrum esculentum on Wikispecies.Wikispecies