First Known Use: circa 1877
Dictionary
teosinte
noun te·o·sin·te \ˌtā-ō-ˈsin-tē\
Definition of TEOSINTE
: any of several tall annual or perennial grasses (genus Zea) of Mexico and Central America that have small dark triangular seeds and include two species (Z. mays parviglumis and Z. m. mexicana syn. Z. mexicana) which are closely related to and often considered ancestral to corn
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Origin of TEOSINTE
Mexican Spanish, from Nahuatl teōcintli, from teōtl god + cintli dried ears of maize
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