Job's tears

Job's tears

plant
 (species Coix lacryma-jobi), leafy, jointed-stemmed annual grass of the family Poaceae, native to tropical Asia and naturalized in North America. It is 1 to 3 m (3 to nearly 10 feet) tall. Job's tears receives its name from the hard, shiny, tear-shaped beads that enclose the seed kernels. They are off-white or dark in colour and are 6 to 12 mm (0.25 to 0.5 inch) long. They are sometimes used for jewelry and rosaries. Job's tears is native to the Indian subcontinent but is now widespread throughout the tropical zone. It grows in marshy places and is cultivated in China, the seed kernel having a supposed medicinal value. The seed kernel is also edible, and forms of it are used as cereal foods in parts of East Asia and in the Philippines.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Job's Tears — beads Scientific classification Kingdom: Plantae (unranked) …   Wikipedia

  • Job's tears — Job Job (j[=o]b), n. The hero of the book of that name in the Old Testament; the prototypical patient man. [1913 Webster] {Job s comforter}. (a) A false friend; a tactless or malicious person who, under pretense of sympathy, insinuates rebukes.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Job's-tears — [jōbz′tirz′] n. [see JOB] a coarse, annual tropical grass (Coix lacryma jobi) which bears hard, beadlike structures (modified leaves) contain edible grains pl.n. the beads, often used ornamentally …   English World dictionary

  • Job's tears — n.pl. the seeds of a grass, Coix lacryma jobi, used as beads. Etymology: the patriarch Job in the Old Testament * * * noun hard pearly seeds of an Asiatic grass; often used as beads • Hypernyms: ↑seed * * * noun plural Usage: usually capitalized… …   Useful english dictionary

  • Job’s tears — Jobo ašarė statusas T sritis vardynas apibrėžtis Miglinių šeimos dekoratyvinis, grūdinis, maistinis, pašarinis, vaistinis augalas (Coix lacryma jobi), paplitęs rytų ir pietryčių Azijoje, naudojamas gėrimams gaminti (iš sėklų verdama arbata).… …   Lithuanian dictionary (lietuvių žodynas)

  • Job's tears — noun plural Date: 1597 1. hard usually pearly white seeds of a tropical southeast Asian grass (Coix lacryma jobi) often used as beads 2. singular in construction the grass producing Job s tears …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • Job's-tears — /johbz tearz /, n. 1. (used with a pl. v.) the hard, nearly spherical bracts that surround the female flowers of an Asian grass, Coix lacryma jobi, and which when ripe are used as beads. 2. (used with a sing. v.) the grass itself. [1590 1600] * * …   Useful english dictionary

  • Job's tears — [dʒəʊbz] plural noun a SE Asian grass which bears its seeds inside shiny pear shaped receptacles, which are sometimes used as beads. [Coix lacryma jobi.] Origin C16: named after the biblical patriarch Job …   English new terms dictionary

  • Job's tears — /dʒoʊbz ˈtɪəz/ (say johbz tearz) plural noun 1. the hard, nearly globular involucres which surround the female flowers in a species of grass, Coix lacryma jobi, and which when ripe are used as beads. 2. (lower case) (construed as singular) the… …  

  • Job's-tears — /johbz tearz /, n. 1. (used with a pl. v.) the hard, nearly spherical bracts that surround the female flowers of an Asian grass, Coix lacryma jobi, and which when ripe are used as beads. 2. (used with a sing. v.) the grass itself. [1590 1600] * * …   Universalium

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