cereal

A2 Topic:Food & Drink

US /ˈsɪɹ.i.əl/ UK /ˈsɪə.ɹɪ.əl/ See IPA manual

Homophones

serial /ˈsɪɹ.i.əl/

Freq #8110

Meanings

1

noun
A breakfast food made from grain, usually eaten with milk.

She had a bowl of cereal for breakfast.
2

noun
A grain crop such as wheat, rice, or oats, grown to be eaten.

Wheat is one of the world's most important cereals.
3

adj
Relating to grain or the plants that produce it.

The country exports large amounts of cereal crops.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

2 noun · a grain crop such as wheat,... grainfood grain

Word family

Forms cereals

Derived forms cerealiccerealincerealistcerealogynoncerealpseudocereal

Related forms crescent sincere

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

cereal box
the cardboard package in which breakfast cereal is sold

Noun + noun

Simplified etymology

Cereal comes from Latin cerealis, derived from Ceres, the name of the Roman goddess of agriculture.

Etymology

Borrowed from French céréale (“having to do with cereal”), from Latin Cerealis (“of or relating to Ceres”), from Ceres (“Roman goddess of agriculture”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱer- (“grow”), from which also Latin sincerus (English sincere) and Latin crēscō (“grow”) (English crescent).

*ḱer- Proto-Indo-European Cerealis Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Food & Drink

External links

# cereal

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A2
**Part of speech:** noun, adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈsɪɹ.i.əl/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈsɪə.ɹɪ.əl/
**Frequency rank:** 8110

## Meanings
1. A breakfast food made from grain, usually eaten with milk.
2. A grain crop such as wheat, rice, or oats, grown to be eaten.
3. Relating to grain or the plants that produce it.

## Examples
- She had a bowl of cereal for breakfast.
- Wheat is one of the world's most important cereals.
- The country exports large amounts of cereal crops.

## Derived Forms
- cerealic
- cerealin
- cerealist
- cerealogy
- noncereal
- pseudocereal

## Related Forms
- crescent
- sincere

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *ḱer-
- Root: Cerealis

## Etymology
Borrowed from French céréale (“having to do with cereal”), from Latin Cerealis (“of or relating to Ceres”), from Ceres (“Roman goddess of agriculture”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱer- (“grow”), from which also Latin sincerus (English sincere) and Latin crēscō (“grow”) (English crescent).

## AI Etymology
cereal is an adjective and noun. It was borrowed from French céréale (“having to do with cereal”), from Latin Cerealis (“of or relating to Ceres”), from Ceres (“Roman goddess of agriculture”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱer- (“grow”), from which also Latin sincerus (English sincere) and Latin crēscō (“grow”) (English crescent). Historical forms in the chain include *ḱer- (Proto-Indo-European) and Cerealis (Latin). Current senses include a breakfast food made from grain, usually eaten with milk, a grain crop such as wheat, rice, or oats, grown to be eaten, and relating to grain or the plants that produce it. Derived forms include cerealic, cerealin, cerealist, cerealogy, and noncereal. Related words include crescent and sincere.

## Topics
- Food & Drink

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