Ground corn or maize used in cooking and baking, commonly made into flour for breads, porridges, and other dishes.
From 'corn' plus 'meal' (ground grain). Cornmeal production became widespread after European contact with the Americas, where maize originated, and it became a dietary staple across Europe and Africa by the 17th century.
Cornmeal was one of the few foods that could sustain enslaved and colonized people through its caloric density and storage life—making it simultaneously a tool of oppression and an ingredient that created entirely new cuisines in the Caribbean, Africa, and the Southern United States!
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.