sorghum

noun

Etymology: From New Latin genus name Sorghum, from Italian sorgo, from Vulgar Latin *syricum (“Syrian”), from Sȳricus. Doublet of the synonyms sorgho (via French) and sorgo (via Italian).

1. A cereal, Sorghum genus and species, the grains of which are cultivated to make flour and feed cattle. Almost all cultivated ones as well as some wild ones belong to the species Sorghum bicolor (syn. Sorghum vulgare).

   “1936, Harry Nelson Vinall, Joseph Charlworth Stephens, John Holmes Martin, Identification, History, and Distribution of Common Sorghum Varieties, US Department of Agriculture, Technical Bulletin No. 506, page 2, The sorghum crop has four uses — forage, grain, sirup, and industrial (such as the manufacture of brooms, wallboard, etc.).”

   “1978, US Department of Agriculture, Watch out for witchweed, a serious pest of corn, sorghum, and other crops, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Program Number 1212, unnumbered page, Witchweed (Striga spp.) is a parasitic plant that attacks corn, sorghum, sugarcane, rice, and more than 60 different species of the grass family.”

2. Sorghum syrup.