What does "buckwheat" mean?

An Asian plant, of the species Fagopyrum esculentum.

What is a synonym for "buckwheat"?

Common synonyms include: fagopyrum esculentum, grass, oats, polygonum fagopyrum, wheat.

Buckwheat

//ˈbʌkʍiːt// name, noun, slang

name, noun, slang ·Moderate ·High school level

Definitions

Noun

1
An Asian plant, of the species Fagopyrum esculentum. uncountable, usually
2
grain ground into flour wordnet
3
The fruit of this plant used as a pseudocereal. uncountable, usually
"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."
4
a member of the genus Fagopyrum; annual Asian plant with clusters of small pinkish white flowers and small edible triangular seeds which are used whole or ground into flour wordnet
5
Any of the wild buckwheats in the genus Eriogonum. US, Western, uncountable, usually

Show 3 more definitions

6
A slow and painful murder by the Mafia as a warning to others. slang, uncountable, usually
"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."
7
Curly hair of a black person. US, derogatory, ethnic, offensive, slur, uncountable, usually
8
Pubic hair. slang, uncountable, usually

Proper Noun

1
Barack Obama. derogatory, humorous
"How will "Buckwheat" Obama handle the ever increasing nuke threat from Iran?"

Synonyms

All synonyms

fagopyrum esculentum grass oats polygonum fagopyrum wheat

Example

More examples

"Soba is made of buckwheat flour, and udon and kishimen are made of plain wheat flour."

Etymology

Etymology 1

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.

Etymology 2

After a character from the Little Rascals comedy films, from buckwheat. Popularized by politician Corey Poitier in March 2010 though attestations exist as early as February 2008.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.