sorghum

Etymology

From New Latin genus name Sorghum, from Italian sorgo, from Vulgar Latin *syricum (“Syrian”), from Sȳricus.

noun

1. A cereal, Sorghum genus and species, the grains of which are cultivated to make flour and feed cattle. Almost all cultivated ones as well as some wild ones belong to the species Sorghum bicolor (syn. Sorghum vulgare).
   1936, Harry Nelson Vinall, Joseph Charlworth Stephens, John Holmes Martin, Identification, History, and Distribution of Common Sorghum Varieties, US Department of Agriculture, Technical Bulletin No. 506, page 2, The sorghum crop has four uses — forage, grain, sirup, and industrial (such as the manufacture of brooms, wallboard, etc.).
   1978, US Department of Agriculture, Watch out for witchweed, a serious pest of corn, sorghum, and other crops, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Program Number 1212, unnumbered page, Witchweed (Striga spp.) is a parasitic plant that attacks corn, sorghum, sugarcane, rice, and more than 60 different species of the grass family.
   2008, Lamissa Diakité, Amadou Sidibé, Melinda Smale, Mikkel Grum, Seed Value Chains for Sorghum and Millet in Mali: A State-based System in Transition, International Food Policy Research Institute, Discussion Paper 00749, page 2, Archaeological evidence suggests that economies based on cattle, goats, sorghum, and pearl millet were established in this region between 5,000 and 3,000 years ago (Smith 1998).
2. (Southern US) Sorghum syrup.