rye
1
[ rahy ]
/ raɪ /
noun Also called rye whiskey (for defs 4, 5).
a widely cultivated cereal grass, Secale cereale, having one-nerved glumes and two- or three-flowered spikelets.
the seeds or grain of this plant, used for making flour and whiskey, and as a livestock feed.
a straight whiskey distilled from a mash containing 51 percent or more rye grain.
Northeastern U.S. and Canada.
a blended whiskey.
adjective
made with rye grain or flour: rye rolls.
Origin of rye
1
before 900; Middle English; Old English
ryge; cognate with Old Norse
rūgr; akin to Dutch
rogge, German
Roggen
Words nearby rye
Definition for rye (2 of 3)
rye
2
[ rahy ]
/ raɪ /
noun
a male Gypsy.
Origin of rye
2
First recorded in 1850–55,
rye is from the Romany word
rai
Definition for rye (3 of 3)
Rye
[ rahy ]
/ raɪ /
noun
a city in SE New York, on Long Island Sound.
Example sentences from the Web for rye
British Dictionary definitions for rye (1 of 3)
rye
1
/ (raɪ) /
noun
a tall hardy widely cultivated annual grass, Secale cereale, having soft bluish-green leaves, bristly flower spikes, and light brown grain
See also wild rye
the grain of this grass, used in making flour and whiskey, and as a livestock food
Also called: rye whiskey
whiskey distilled from rye. US whiskey must by law contain not less than 51 per cent rye
US short for rye bread
Word Origin for rye
Old English
ryge; related to Old Norse
rugr, Old French
rogga, Old Saxon
roggo
British Dictionary definitions for rye (2 of 3)
rye
2
/ (raɪ) /
noun
dialect
a gentleman
Word Origin for rye
from Romany
rai, from Sanskrit
rājan king; see
rajah
British Dictionary definitions for rye (3 of 3)
Rye
/ (raɪ) /
noun
a resort in SE England, in East Sussex: one of the Cinque Ports. Pop: 4195 (2001)