Zea mays : n : tall annual cereal grass bearing kernels on large ears:
widely cultivated in America in many varieties; the
principal cereal in Mexico and Central and South America
since pre-Columbian times [syn: corn, maize, Indian
corn, Zea mays]
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
Zea \Ze"a\ (z[=e]"[.a]), n. [L., a kind of grain, fr. Gr. ze`a,
zeia`; cf. Skr. yava barley.] (Bot.)
A genus of large grasses of which the Indian corn ({Zea
Mays) is the only species known. Its origin is not yet
ascertained. See Maize.