n. [ OE. whete, AS. hw&aemacr_;te; akin to OS. hwēti, D. weit, G. weizen, OHG. weizzi, Icel. hveiti, Sw. hvete, Dan. hvede, Goth. hwaiteis, and E. white. See White. ] (Bot.) A cereal grass (Triticum vulgare) and its grain, which furnishes a white flour for bread, and, next to rice, is the grain most largely used by the human race. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ Of this grain the varieties are numerous, as red wheat, white wheat, bald wheat, bearded wheat, winter wheat, summer wheat, and the like. Wheat is not known to exist as a wild native plant, and all statements as to its origin are either incorrect or at best only guesses. [ 1913 Webster ]

Buck wheat. (Bot.) See Buckwheat. --
German wheat. (Bot.) See 2d Spelt. --
Guinea wheat (Bot.), a name for Indian corn. --
Indian wheat, or
Tartary wheat (Bot.), a grain (Fagopyrum Tartaricum) much like buckwheat, but only half as large. --
Turkey wheat (Bot.), a name for Indian corn. --
Wheat aphid, or
Wheat aphis (Zool.), any one of several species of Aphis and allied genera, which suck the sap of growing wheat. --
Wheat beetle. (Zool.) (a) A small, slender, rusty brown beetle (Sylvanus Surinamensis) whose larvae feed upon wheat, rice, and other grains. (b) A very small, reddish brown, oval beetle (Anobium paniceum) whose larvae eat the interior of grains of wheat. --
Wheat duck (Zool.), the American widgeon. [ Western U. S. ] --
Wheat fly. (Zool.) Same as Wheat midge, below. --
Wheat grass (Bot.), a kind of grass (Agropyrum caninum) somewhat resembling wheat. It grows in the northern parts of Europe and America. --
Wheat jointworm. (Zool.) See Jointworm. --
Wheat louse (Zool.), any wheat aphid. --
Wheat maggot (Zool.), the larva of a wheat midge. --
Wheat midge. (Zool.) (a) A small two-winged fly (Diplosis tritici) which is very destructive to growing wheat, both in Europe and America. The female lays her eggs in the flowers of wheat, and the larvae suck the juice of the young kernels and when full grown change to pupae in the earth. (b) The Hessian fly. See under Hessian. --
Wheat moth (Zool.), any moth whose larvae devour the grains of wheat, chiefly after it is harvested; a grain moth. See Angoumois Moth, also Grain moth, under Grain. --
Wheat thief (Bot.), gromwell; -- so called because it is a troublesome weed in wheat fields. See Gromwell. --
Wheat thrips (Zool.), a small brown thrips (Thrips cerealium) which is very injurious to the grains of growing wheat. --
Wheat weevil. (Zool.) (a) The grain weevil. (b) The rice weevil when found in wheat. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Zool.) A bird that feeds on wheat, especially the chaffinch. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Zool.) A small European singing bird (Saxicola œnanthe). The male is white beneath, bluish gray above, with black wings and a black stripe through each eye. The tail is black at the tip and in the middle, but white at the base and on each side. Called also checkbird, chickell, dykehopper, fallow chat, fallow finch, stonechat, and whitetail. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ AS. hwæten. ] Made of wheat; as, wheaten bread. Cowper. [ 1913 Webster ]

. A disease of wheat and other grasses caused by the rust fungus Puccinia graminis; also, the fungus itself. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

. (a) A small European sawfly (Cephus pygmaeus) whose larva does great injury to wheat by boring in the stalks. (b) Any of several small American sawflies of the genus Dolerus, as Dolerus sericeus and Dolerus arvensis, whose larvae injure the stems or heads of wheat. (c) Pachynematus extensicornis, whose larvae feed chiefly on the blades of wheat; -- called also grass sawfly. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

(Zool.) The male of the chaffinch. [ Prov. Eng. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

(Elec.) See under Bridge. [ 1913 Webster ]

. (Acoustics) Flexible rods the period of vibration of which in two planes at right angles are in some exact ratio to one another. When one end of such a rod is fixed, the free end describes in vibrating the corresponding Lissajous figure. So called because devised by Sir Charles Wheatstone. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. A small nematode worm (Tylenchus tritici, formerly Anguillula tritici) which attacks wheat, advancing through the stem to the grains in the ear. In wheat affected with smut, each of the diseased grains may contain a large number of the minute young of the worm. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]