Maincrops

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Primary cultivated plants grown for harvest and use as food or raw materials ; principal agricultural species intended for commercial production ; chief crops cultivated extensively for economic or subsistence purposes
2. The foremost varieties of plants cultivated on large scales for consumption or processing ; dominant agricultural products grown as staples in farming practices ; essential crops produced mainly for market or household supply
3. The leading types of produce grown deliberately for collection and use ; major farm-grown plants serving as primary sources of nutrition or industry ; key harvests obtained from agricultural activity aimed at sustaining populations or economies

Etymology: "Maincrops" is the plural of "maincrop", a compound of two common English words: "main", meaning chief or principal, and "crop", meaning the produce a field yields. Together they name the principal crops grown on a farm, the ones that take up most of the land and make up most of its income. The compound is transparent, so there is no hidden history to uncover, only the plain sense of the two parts combined. The plural simply pluralises the noun, so "maincrops" refers to more than one such crop, typically a group such as wheat, barley, and potatoes in a given region.

Synonyms: staple, cash crop

Antonyms: catch crop