‖ zea
(ˈziːə)
[late and mod.L. zēa, a. Gr. ζειά.]
† 1. A Latin name for the grain called spelt. Obs.
| 1577 Googe tr. Heresbach's Husb. 29 Next to Wheate and Barley, foloweth Zea. 1611 Cotgr., Bled leger, Spelt or Zea; a corne which makes light and sauorie..bread. |
2. Bot. Adopted by Linnæus as the name of a genus of graminaceous plants, comprising the one species Z. Mays (sometimes anglicized as zea maize), Maize or Indian corn.
| 1787 tr. Linnæus' Fam. Plants II. 633 Zéa... Indian, or Turkey Wheat. 1808 Bartram in A. Wilson Amer. Ornith. (1832) I. 8, I fed him with corn, (zea, maize). 1820 Amer. Jrnl. Sci. II. 46 The smut upon an ear of Zea-Mays. 1851 Mayne Reid Rifle Rangers i. (1853) 16 The lance-like blades of the zea maize. |