A cereal grass whose starchy grains are a staple food for much of the world's population.
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Tamil/Dravidian13th century (in English)well-attested
From OldFrench "ris," from Italian "riso," from Latin "orȳza," borrowed from Greek "óryza" (ὄρυζα), which was itself a borrowing from an Eastern Iranian or Indo-Aryan source. The likely immediate source is an Old Iranian form related to Pashto "wriže" and Middle Persian "brinǰ." These ultimately derive from Sanskrit "vrīhi-" (rice), a word of probable Dravidian origin — Tamil "arici" (husked rice) is frequently cited as the ultimate source, though some scholars
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Spanish 'arroz' has theArabic article 'al-' (as 'ar-' via assimilation), from Arabic 'al-ruzz' (الرز), while English 'rice' comes through the Greek/Latin path without the Arabic layer. The same Dravidian word reached Europe by two routes: one through Arab traders (→ arroz) and one through Greek merchants (→ rice).
), Spanish "arroz" (with Arabic article), Portuguese "arroz," Malay "beras" (from a parallel Austroasiatic line), and Japanese "raisu" (a modern re-borrowing from English). This is one of the great Wanderwörter — a word that traveled with its referent across language families and continents. Key roots: arisi (Tamil: "husked rice, rice grain").