Quinoas

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A group of edible seeds from various strains of a plant known for its nutrient-rich qualities and used primarily as a grain substitute in cooking; also refers to such seeds collectively as a food source
2. Multiple types or amounts of the nutritious pseudocereal grown for its seeds that serve as a staple food alternative to grains; the plural form indicating more than one variety or quantity of these seeds
3. Several instances or varieties of the protein-rich seeds harvested from a leafy plant, commonly used in diverse culinary dishes as a gluten-free grain alternative; the plural denotes various kinds or portions of these seeds collected for consumption

Etymology: "Quinoas" is simply the plural of "quinoa," so its history is the history of the seed itself. The grain-like crop was cultivated in the Andes long before Europeans arrived, and the name comes from Quechua, the language of the Inca and their predecessors, where the word was "kinwa." Spanish colonizers adopted it as "quinua," and English later took the Spanish form, which is why the spelling looks so unlike the Quechua it descends from. The plural is used when speakers mean more than one variety of the seed, such as white, red, and black quinoas, or simply several portions or bags of it. English treats the word as a countable noun in this sense, even though "quinoa" alone usually names the food as a mass.

Synonyms: chenopods, pseudocereals