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edible seed

edible seed

2.1
A small part of a plant that you can eat and use in cooking
  • noun
  • /ˈɛdɪbəl siːd/
translation icon : semilla comestible
  • Sunflowers are grown for their edible seeds, which are popular snacks and used in cooking.

Examples

  • Then the fat edible seeds had to be removed one by one and scraped free of a stringy, clinging matrix.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • Many other trees with edible seeds and pods await development, notably Leucaena edulis, Acacia, Parkia, and Pentaclethra species.

    Blog text (1)
  • Many people add edible seeds, like chia or flax, to their smoothies for extra nutrients.

  • In several cultures, edible seeds are a staple food, often featured in traditional dishes.

Synonyms

grain
vsedible seed
203 1.0

An edible seed from plants like wheat or rice used as food

is broader, meaning any edible plant part used for food or seasoning
kernel
vsedible seed
20 3.8

Edible part inside a seed, grain, or nut

is the whole edible unit eaten or used whole rather than the inner part

Surface Forms

edible seed singular
edible seeds plural

Morphology

edible + seed

The meaning 'a seed that can be safely eaten' is directly and compositionally derived from 'edible' (suitable to be eaten) modifying 'seed' (a plant part), following a standard adjective + noun pattern. This straightforward, cross‑linguistic compositionality makes the phrase immediately comprehensible to a B1 learner who knows both words.

Etymology

Edible seed comes from a simple kitchen and farm idea: people kept certain seeds for the table and marked them edible to show they were safe to eat, so the phrase means 'a seed that can be safely eaten'.