Khorasan wheat

[ kawr-uh-sahn hweet, weet, ‐-san ]

noun

1. an ancient grain, Triticum turgidum turanicum, a variety of large-grained durum wheat, often touted as a healthier alternative to conventional modern wheat.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Khorasan wheat¹

First recorded in 2000–05; from Persian Xorāsān “(land) where the suns rises, east,” a historic region in northeast Persia, now a province of Iran; the variant pharaoh grain supposedly so called because an American airman in 1949 acquired grains allegedly found in the tomb of an Egyptian Pharaoh, or possibly because Khorasan wheat was brought into ancient Egypt by invading armies