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Glite Dictionary
Zea mays

Zea mays

5.6
A tall plant grown for its large ears of corn
  • noun
  • /ziːə meɪz/
  • Specialized
translation icon : maíz
  • Zea mays, commonly known as corn, is a staple crop in many countries around the world.

Examples

  • The yellow kernels of Zea mays are often used to make popcorn and cornmeal.

  • Farmers in the Midwest grow Zea mays extensively for both food and animal feed.

  • Mexico is a center of origin for Zea mays, the ancestral precursor of modern corn.

    Academic text (2005)

  • In this study, we found that exogenously applied MeJA increased aldehyde oxidase (AO) activities in the roots and leaves of maize (Zea mays).

    Academic text (2015)

Synonyms

corn
vsZea mays
  • US
522 1.0

A tall plant with large yellow seeds used for food

is the scientific Latin name rather than the common or product term
maize
vsZea mays
12 1.9

A tall plant that produces small yellow seeds used for food and animal feed

is the scientific Latin name for the same species

Surface Forms

Zea mays singular
Zea mayses plural

Morphology

Zea + mays

Zea mays is a Latin binomial (scientific name) rather than a compositional English phrase, and its meaning 'maize/corn' cannot be inferred from the English senses of the parts — especially since 'mays' is not an English word. Recognizing it requires specialist knowledge of taxonomy or vocabulary beyond a B1 learner's expected lexicon, so the meaning is not transparently derivable.

Etymology

The scientific name Zea mays comes from two older words: Zea, an old Greek word for a type of grain, and mays, from the Native American word 'mahiz' for corn. So the name simply means the plant we call 'maize' or 'corn' today.