rice (noun)

grains used as food either unpolished or more often polished

rice (noun)

annual or perennial rhizomatous marsh grasses; seed used for food; straw used for paper

Rice, Sir Tim Rice, Timothy Miles Bindon Rice (noun)

English lyricist who frequently worked with Andrew Lloyd Webber (born in 1944)

Rice, Elmer Rice, Elmer Leopold Rice, Elmer Reizenstein (verb)

United States playwright (1892-1967)

rice (verb)

sieve so that it becomes the consistency of rice

"rice the potatoes"

rice (Noun)

Cereal plants of the grass family whose seeds are used as food.

rice (Noun)

The seeds of this plant used as food.

rice (Verb)

to squeeze through a ricer; to mash or make into rice-sized pieces

rice (Verb)

to throw rice at a person (usually at a wedding).

rice (Verb)

to belittle a government emissary or similar on behalf of a more powerful militaristic state

rice (Verb)

to harvest wild rice Zinzania sp.

Rice (ProperNoun)

derived from given name Rhys.

Rice

Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glabaerreima. As a cereal grain, it is the most widely consumed staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in Asia and the West Indies. It is the grain with the second-highest worldwide production, after maize, according to data for 2010. Since a large portion of maize crops are grown for purposes other than human consumption, rice is the most important grain with regard to human nutrition and caloric intake, providing more than one fifth of the calories consumed worldwide by the human species. Genetic evidence has shown that rice originates from a single domestication 8,200–13,500 years ago, in the Pearl River valley region of China. Previously, archaeological evidence had suggested that rice was domesticated in the Yangtze River valley region in China. From East Asia, rice spread to Southeast and South Asia. Rice was introduced to Europe through Western Asia, and to the Americas through European colonization. There are many varieties of rice and culinary preferences tend to vary regionally. In the Far East, there is a preference for softer and stickier varieties. Because of its importance as a staple food, rice has considerable cultural importance. Rice is often directly associated with prosperity and fertility. Therefore, there is the custom of throwing rice at weddings.

Rice

Rice is the seed of the grass species Oryza sativa (Asian rice) or less commonly O. glaberrima (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera Zizania and Porteresia, both wild and domesticated, although the term may also be used for primitive or uncultivated varieties of Oryza. As a cereal grain, domesticated rice is the most widely consumed staple food for over half of the world's human population, particularly in Asia and Africa. It is the agricultural commodity with the third-highest worldwide production, after sugarcane and maize. Since sizable portions of sugarcane and maize crops are used for purposes other than human consumption, rice is the most important food crop with regard to human nutrition and caloric intake, providing more than one-fifth of the calories consumed worldwide by humans. There are many varieties of rice and culinary preferences tend to vary regionally. The traditional method for cultivating rice is flooding the fields while, or after, setting the young seedlings. This simple method requires sound irrigation planning, but reduces the growth of less robust weed and pest plants that have no submerged growth state, and deters vermin. While flooding is not mandatory for the cultivation of rice, all other methods of irrigation require higher effort in weed and pest control during growth periods and a different approach for fertilizing the soil. Rice, a monocot, is normally grown as an annual plant, although in tropical areas it can survive as a perennial and can produce a ratoon crop for up to 30 years. Rice cultivation is well-suited to countries and regions with low labor costs and high rainfall, as it is labor-intensive to cultivate and requires ample water. However, rice can be grown practically anywhere, even on a steep hill or mountain area with the use of water-controlling terrace systems. Although its parent species are native to Asia and certain parts of Africa, centuries of trade and exportation have made it commonplace in many cultures worldwide. Production and consumption of rice is estimated to have been responsible for 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions in 2010.