buckwheat
noun/ˈbʌkʍiːt/ · /ˈbʌkwiːt/
Etymology Ultimately from Middle Low German bōkwête (“beech-wheat”) (so called because of its triangular seeds, which resemble the much larger seeds of the beech nut from the beech tree, and the fact that it is used like wheat), probably via Middle Dutch boecweit, boecweite. Compare German Buchweizen. Despite the name, buckwheat is not related to wheat, as it is not a grass.
1
Usually An Asian plant, of the species Fagopyrum esculentum.
- I'll need a few things. I'll need some mayonnaise and a silver tin of sardines, a banana. I'll need some buckwheat flapjack mix.2017, Sam Shepard, chapter 27, in Spy of the First Person, →ISBN, page 62:
4
Slang, Usually A slow and painful murder by the Mafia as a warning to others.
- Mafia mythology has many believe that the method used to eliminate a person is often a reflection of the respect for that individual. In this case, the Profaci gunman must have witnessed a "buckwheat's" execution, where an example is being made of the victim by inflicting pain for a prolonged period.2000, Olindo Romeo Chiocca, Mobsters and Thugs: Quotes from the Underworld, page 17:
- Mob murders are seldom buckwheats, being instead simple business matters. An exception is made, however, for murders of example, such as in the case of informers, or mobsters who hold out on gang revenues […]2006, Carl Sifakis, The Mafia Encyclopedia, page 66:
5
US, Derogatory, Ethnic, Offensive, Slur, Usually Curly hair of a black person.
6
Slang, Usually Pubic hair.
- Derived terms
26 terms
buckwheat cake, buckwheat coal, buckwheater, buckwheatlike, buckwheat note, buckwheat tree, buckwheat vine, buckwheaty, California buckwheat, climbing buckwheat, common buckwheat, Conejo buckwheat, false buckwheat, hedge buckwheat, Mount Diablo buckwheat, naked buckwheat, nude buckwheat, saffron buckwheat, sulfur buckwheat, tall buckwheat, Tartar buckwheat, Tartarian buckwheat, Tartary buckwheat, true buckwheat, wild buckwheat, Wright's buckwheat