granoturco

maize

noun grah-noh-TOOR-koh Rare

Origin: Compound of grano (grain) + turco (Turkish), reflecting its arrival in Europe via the Ottoman trade routes.

Also means

corn

Usage Note

Granoturco is the traditional Italian word for maize (Zea mays). In northern Italy mais is now more common, but granoturco remains standard in formal, agricultural, and older literary usage. It is masculine singular with no standard plural in common use. The adjective turco (Turkish) in the name reflects a once-common European misnomer for New World imports.

Examples

"Il granoturco viene coltivato nella pianura padana."

Natural Translation

Maize is cultivated in the Po plain.

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