Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Any of several plants, such as quinoa, that do not belong to the grass family but produce fruits and seeds used as flour for bread and other staples.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun any plant that, although not belonging to the grass family, produces seeds that are used to make flour

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

pseudo- +‎ cereal

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Examples

  • 2 Quinoa is called a "pseudocereal" because its use is similar to that of cereals but the plant is not in the grass family.

    3: Staple crops 1996

  • The seed of a plant grown in the Andes (commonly referred to as a grain, though it's technically a pseudocereal), quinoa was considered sacred by the Incas, who also used it as medicine.

    Chicago Reader 2010

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