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Glite Dictionary
finger millet

finger millet

7.0
A cereal plant from Asia and Africa with small seeds used to make flour
  • noun
  • Indian
translation icon : mijo
  • "In addition to cowpea, cassava, finger millet, beans, rice, and pearl millet, AGRA will also focus on maize, sorghum, and bananas.

Examples

  • Finger millet, a supplemental cereal crop, is, according to Oduori Adeti, "of particular importance in upland areas of eastern Africa."

    Academic text (2008)

  • "Finger millet lacks storage pests and therefore serves food security purposes for otherwise low harvest times.

    Academic text (2008)

  • Oduori Adeti says his priority is "to enhance finger millet breeding methodologies, especially hybridization, and improve yield and resistance to abiotic and biotic stresses."

    Academic text (2008)

  • Another breeder, Chrispus Oduori Adeti, focuses on finger millet in western Kenya while also working on a PhD from KwaZulu University, in South Africa, with Rockefeller Foundation support.

    Academic text (2008)

  • Many farmers in East Africa grow finger millet because it requires less water than other crops and can thrive in dry conditions.

  • In southern India, finger millet is widely used to prepare traditional dishes like ragi mudde, which is a staple food.

  • Finger millet is often ground into flour to make nutritious porridge that is popular in many African countries.

Synonyms

Eleusine coracana
vsfinger millet
  • Indian
9.9

A grain plant with small seeds that people grow in Asia and Africa for flour and porridge

is the everyday common name rather than the scientific one
ragee
vsfinger millet
  • Archaic
9.9

A grain plant grown in Asia and Africa for flour and porridge

is the standard English name used generally across regions
ragi
vsfinger millet
  • Indian
9.9

A grain from India used to make nutritious, slightly bitter flour eaten as a main food

focuses on a neutral plant description rather than stressing nutrition
coracan
vsfinger millet
  • Indian
9.9

A small grain grown in India and Africa used to make flour

refers more broadly to the cereal plant itself, not just flour use
corakan
vsfinger millet
  • Indian
9.9

A grain plant whose seeds make a slightly bitter flour for flatbreads and porridge

describes the plant generally rather than focusing on its flour product
kurakkan
vsfinger millet
  • Indian
9.9

A small grain used to make flour for flatbreads in Sri Lanka

is the general name across tropical Asia and Africa rather than regional use

Surface Forms

finger millet singular
finger millets plural

Morphology

finger + millet

The compound is compositional: 'millet' supplies the core meaning (a small-seeded cereal) and 'finger' functions as a descriptive modifier (name of a variety, likely referring to shape). A B1 learner who knows both words would reasonably infer this is a type of millet used for food, so the meaning is transparently derived from the constituents.

Etymology

Finger millet may come from the plant's long groups of tiny seeds that look like many little fingers on a stem. That's why the name now refers to the 'cereal' plant and the 'flour' made from its small seeds.