Oryza
/ɔːˈraɪzə/noun
A genus of grasses that includes cultivated rice.
Did you know?Oryza is probably connected to Sanskrit vrīhi, “rice,” but scholars debate the exact linguistic route by which this Asian crop-name entered Greek and Latin.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Indo-Iranian
Indo-Iranian
*vrīhi
“A reconstructed ancestral form meaning “rice,” related to Sanskrit vrīhi.”
Ancient India
Sanskrit
vrīhi
“Rice, especially the rice grain or plant.”
Ancient Greek
Greek
ὄρυζα (óruza)
“Rice; a loanword likely transmitted through eastern trade networks.”
1st Century BCE–1st Century CE
Latin
oryza
“Rice; the Latin botanical and food term borrowed from Greek.”
Medieval Romance
Old French / Italian / Spanish
ris / riso / arroz
“Rice; descendant forms that developed through regional sound changes and Arabic transmission in some varieties.”
18th Century
Modern scientific Latin
Oryza
“The botanical genus containing cultivated rice and related species.”