millet

¹

[mil-it]

noun

1. a cereal grass, Setaria italica, extensively cultivated in the East and in southern Europe for its small seed, or grain, used as food for humans and fowls, but in the U.S. grown chiefly for fodder.

2. any of various related or similar grasses cultivated as grain plants or forage plants.

3. the grain of any of these grasses.

Millet

²

[mi-ley, mee-le]

noun

1. Francis Davis, 1846–1912, U.S. painter, illustrator, and journalist.

2. Jean François 1814–75, French painter.

millet

¹

/ ˈmɪlɪt /

noun

1. a cereal grass, Setaria italica, cultivated for grain and animal fodder

2. 1. an East Indian annual grass, Panicum miliaceum, cultivated for grain and forage, having pale round shiny seeds

   2. the seed of this plant

3. any of various similar or related grasses, such as pearl millet and Indian millet

Millet

²

/ milɛ /

noun

1. Jean François (ʒɑ̃ frɑ̃swa). 1814–75, French painter of the Barbizon school, noted for his studies of peasants at work

Word History and Origins

Origin of millet¹

1375–1425; late Middle English milet < Middle French, equivalent to mil (< Latin milium millet) + -et -et

Word History and Origins

Origin of millet¹

C14: via Old French from Latin milium; related to Greek melinē millet

Example Sentences

"So far, we have learnt that the people of Keeladi were involved in agriculture, trade and cattle-rearing. They kept deer, goats and wild pigs and ate lots of rice and millets," says Prof Kumaresan.

From BBC

Sometimes it is possible to find sorghum or millet but on the day of filming, the kitchen manager says: "There is no flour or bread."

From BBC

"In el-Fasher there was a lot of shelling and hunger. Only hunger and bombs," the girl said, adding that the family had been surviving on only millet.

From BBC

I became obsessed with "waakye" - a dish made from rice and black-eyed peas, often cooked with millet leaves, giving it a distinctive purple-brown colour.

From BBC

Corn farmers across the Midwest are experimenting with drought-resistant millets, while growers in Sub-Saharan Africa are embracing varieties of sorghum and legumes that require less water than other grains.

From Salon