# rice

Pronunciation: say "RYS" /ɹaɪs/

## Noun

1. The small grains of the rice plant (chiefly Oryza sativa), cooked and eaten as a staple food in much of the world.
   - Simple: Small white or brown grains that are cooked and eaten, often with other food.
   - _In many countries, rice forms the base of nearly every meal._
   - _He rinsed the rice twice before adding it to the boiling water._
2. A cereal plant of the grass family grown for its edible seeds, chiefly Asian rice (Oryza sativa) and, less widely, African rice (Oryza glaberrima).
   - Simple: A grassy food plant grown for the seeds that people eat.
   - _Across much of Asia, farmers plant rice in flooded paddies when the monsoon rains arrive._
   - _Rice thrives in warm, wet climates where water is abundant._
6. Flashy cosmetic modifications added to a car (large spoilers, loud paint, oversized exhausts) that suggest high performance without delivering it. *(slang)*
   - Simple: Showy add-ons put on a car to make it look fast, often without real power.
   - _The hatchback was dripping with rice: an enormous spoiler, neon trim, and a fake hood scoop._
   - _Critics dismissed the build as all rice and no horsepower._
4. One kind of rice, as a plant or as grain, told apart from other kinds by features like grain length, stickiness, color, or scent.
   - Simple: One type of rice that is different from other types in grain length, color, smell, or how sticky it is.
   - _Arborio, a plump Italian rice, is what gives a good risotto its creamy texture._
   - _Farmers in the valley still grow several heirloom rices, including a red one with a nutty flavor._

## Verb

3. To break food into small pieces about the size of rice grains, especially by pressing boiled potatoes through a ricer or by grating or finely chopping vegetables such as cauliflower.
   - Simple: To break food into tiny bits the size of rice grains, such as boiled potatoes or raw cauliflower.
   - _He riced the warm potatoes into a light, fluffy mound._
   - _Many chefs rice hard-boiled egg yolks to garnish salads._

## Verb

5. To throw grains of rice at a person, usually as part of the celebrations at a wedding. *(rare)*
   - Simple: To throw rice at someone, usually at a wedding.

## Noun

7. A light, often collapsible, revolving reel, also called a swift, that holds a skein or hank of yarn while it is wound off. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A turning frame that holds a loop of yarn or thread while it is wound onto a spool.

## Other meanings

- (verb) To harvest the grain of wild rice (Zizania), typically from a canoe in shallow lakes and marshes.
- (verb) To extensively customize the appearance and behavior of a computer's user interface, especially a desktop environment.
- (noun) A particular customized configuration of a computer's user interface, especially the look of a desktop environment.
- (noun) A twig or thin stick; also, twigs and small branches collectively, cut as brushwood for hedges and fences.

## Origin

**Meanings 1–6** — Rice and arroz are doublets. The English word comes from Middle English rys, which was borrowed from Old French ris. Behind that stand Old Italian riso, Latin oryza, and Ancient Greek ὄρυζα (óruza), which Greek took from an Eastern Iranian language. One theory holds that the Iranian word came from Sanskrit व्रीहि (vrīhi), which may in turn have been borrowed from a Dravidian language or from Austroasiatic languages farther east. Another account traces the Greek word to Hebrew אורז (órez), and ultimately to Old Tamil.
**Meaning 7** — Old English hrīs ("branch, twig") became Middle English ris. It goes back to Proto-Germanic *hrīsą ("bush, twig") and to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to turn or bend." Related words include Dutch rijs, German Reis ("twig, sprig"), and Swedish ris ("twigs, brush").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/rice (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).