noun

1. any of several cereal grasses (genus Triticum) having dense, erect spikes containing grains which thresh free of the chaff; esp., bread wheat (T. aestivum), a cultigen with large, nutritious grains
2. the grain of any of these grasses; esp., bread wheat, used in making flour, cereals, pastries, cakes, etc., and durum, used in making macaroni, noodles, etc.: next to rice, the most widely used grain

Etymology: ME whete < OE hwæte, akin to Ger weizen < IE base *kweid-, to gleam, bright, white: from the white seed