teff

American  

[tef] / tɛf /

noun

1. a grass, Eragrostis tef, native to the Horn of Africa, where it is cultivated for its edible seeds.

2. the edible seeds of the grass Eragrostis tef.

3. Sometimes teff flour a flour made from the edible seeds of the grass Eragrostis tef, used especially in the cuisine of Ethiopia and Eritrea.

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Etymology

Origin of teff

First recorded in 1780–90; from Amharic t’ef; compare Geez t’ah’əf, t’ayəf

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

teff

Used for thousands of years in traditional east African diets, teff is now making its mark globally in performance nutrition.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

At an elevation of about 2500 meters on Ethiopia’s Amhara plain, villagers conduct an ancient ritual—harvesting delicate stalks of teff by hand.

From Science Magazine ● Nov. 26, 2024

The researchers used five flours that included gluten: unbleached all-purpose flour, red turkey wheat, emmer, rye and einkorn; and five gluten-free flours: teff, millet, sorghum, buckwheat and amaranth.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 11, 2023

They were living in New York and had access to plenty of health food stores, farmers markets and ethnic stores where she easily could source things such as millet and sorghum flours, arrowroot and teff.

From Seattle Times ● May 16, 2023

Here the chief crops are wheat, barley, teff, peppers, vegetables of all kinds and coffee.

From The Project Gutenberg Encyclopedia Volume 1 of 28 by Project Gutenberg

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