Eragrostis tef

9.9

A grass from Ethiopia grown for very small edible seeds used to make flour

noun

Specialized

: teff

Ethiopian farmers have cultivated Eragrostis tef for thousands of years as a staple crop.

Examples

The gluten-free flour produced from Eragrostis tef is gaining popularity in Western baking.
Research is ongoing to improve the yield and drought resistance of Eragrostis tef.
Look at the Eragrostis tef!
Farmers in Ethiopia grow Eragrostis tef for its nutritious seeds.
Ethiopian farmers have cultivated Eragrostis tef for thousands of years as a staple crop.
Farmers in Ethiopia grow Eragrostis tef for its nutritious seeds.
The gluten-free flour produced from Eragrostis tef is gaining popularity in Western baking.

Synonyms

teff grass

vsEragrostis tef

Specialized

9.7

An African grass that farmers grow for very small edible seeds used for flour and animal feed

is native specifically to Ethiopia rather than broadly across Africa

Surface Forms

Eragrostis tef singular

Eragrostis tefs plural

Morphology

Eragrostis + tef

This is a scientific binomial: knowing 'Eragrostis' (a genus of grasses) lets a learner infer that Eragrostis tef is a type/species of grass, so part of the meaning (a grass) is compositional. However, the specific agricultural sense (that it is the teff grain cultivated for food) and the species epithet 'tef' are not derivable from general-word knowledge, making the full meaning only partially predictable.

Etymology

Eragrostis tef mixes an old Greek name for a grass group and the Ethiopian word 'tef'. Eragrostis is often called 'lovegrass', and tef may come from an Amharic word meaning 'lost' because the tiny seeds easily scatter, so the name means a very small-seeded grass grown as a main food.