quinoa
- A South American plant whose seeds are widely eaten as a nutritious grain-like food.
In a sentence
- She prepared a salad with quinoa, roasted vegetables, and a lemon vinaigrette.
- Quinoa has become popular among health-conscious eaters because it contains all nine essential amino acids.
Usage note. Pronunciation is the hard part: despite the spelling, it is said KEEN-wah, not 'KWIH-no-uh', because the word comes from Quechua, not Spanish or English.
Where it comes from
English quinoa — “nutritious Andean grain” · entered English 19th c.
From Spanish 'quinua' or 'quinoa', borrowed from Quechua 'kinuwa' or 'kinoa', the name for the plant in the indigenous Andean language. It entered English in the early 19th century as the plant became known outside South America. The Quechua origin explains the non-intuitive pronunciation.