Definition of
Oat
- (noun, food) seed of the annual grass Avena sativa (spoken of primarily in the plural as `oats')
- (noun, plant) annual grass of Europe and North Africa; grains used as food and fodder (referred to primarily in the plural: `oats')
via WordNet, Princeton University
Alternate forms of Oat
Hyponyms: animated oat, avena barbata, avena fatua, avena sativa, avene sterilis, cereal oat, slender wild oat, wild oat, wild oat grass, wild red oat
Hypernyms: cereal, cereal grass, food grain, grain
Origin of the word Oat
- O.E. ate "grain of the oat plant" (pl. atan), possibly from O.N. eitill "nodule," denoting a single grain, of unknown origin. The usual Gmc. name is derived from P.Gmc. *khabran (cf. O.N. hafri, Du. haver, source of haversack). Famously defined by Johnson as, "A grain, which in England is generally given to horses, but in Scotlan… more
via Online Etymology Dictionary, ©2001 Douglas Harper