What does millet mean?
Millet is a cereal grain and the name of several related grasses whose seeds have been cultivated for food since ancient times. It is especially important in dry regions of Africa and Asia, where its ability to grow with limited water makes it more dependable than many other grains. Millet can be eaten as whole kernels, ground into flour, or cooked into porridge, flatbreads, and pilafs. It is also used as animal feed, although food for people is its best-known use. The term is collective rather than precise: it covers different crops, including finger millet, pearl millet, and barnyard millet, each with its own appearance, taste, and culinary traditions. Millet is nutritionally valuable, providing carbohydrates, protein, fibre, and minerals, but it should not be treated as a single standardized grain. Its cultural importance in many regions rivals that of rice or wheat, even though it is less widely recognized outside those areas.
The edible seeds of several cultivated grasses, used as a cereal grain and animal feed.
"She simmered the millet until the grains were tender."
The plural millets can denote separate kinds of millet rather than multiple grains of one kind.
Any of several annual grasses cultivated for their edible seeds, including finger millet, pearl millet, and barnyard millet.
"Finger millet grows well in regions with little rainfall."
Some names for individual millets, especially finger millet and pearl millet, are commonly treated as both crop names and botanical group names.
The plural may refer to several distinct kinds of millet, as in pearl millets and finger millets, rather than merely to multiple quantities of one grain.
"Farmers in the region cultivate several millets suited to the local climate."
Millet can thrive in hot, dry conditions, making it an important food grain in places where wheat and rice are difficult to cultivate.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does millet come from?
The English word comes through Old French from Latin milium, the name of a grain-bearing grass. Medieval writers also used the term for various small grains, and modern usage groups several cultivated grasses together under the same name. Several Romance cognates descend from Latin milium, although their modern referents are not always identical to those of English millet.
How millet is actually used
The word is common in African and South Asian contexts, where it may name a particular staple grain as well as the broader group of millets. In British English, the frequently cultivated forms are sometimes distinguished as pearl millet, finger millet, and bulrush millet.
Easily confused with millet
Millet is the grain or the grasses that produce it, while millet seed refers specifically to the individual edible seeds.
Both are cereal grains, but millet includes several distinct grass species, whereas sorghum normally refers to species of Sorghum.