rīss

 rīss on Latvian Wikipedia

Via other European languages, ultimately borrowed from Ancient Greek ὄρυζα (óruza), ὄρυζον (óruzon), itself a borrowing from Asian languages, probably ultimately from Dravidian, via Sanskrit व्रीहि (vrīhí). The specifics are still debated.

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rīss m (1st declension)

1. rice (crop of the family Gramineae, esp. Oryza sativa)

   rīsa lauks ― rice field

   iesēt rīsus ― to sow, to plant rice

   novākt rīsus ― to harvest the rice

   rīss ir viens no svarīgākajiem kultūraugiem pasaulē ― rice is one of the most important crops in the world

   no graudaugiem visā pasaulē visvairāk audzē rīsu, kviešus un kukurūzu ― of the grain crops, the most frequently grown in the whole world are rice, wheat, and corn

2. rice (the edible grains, seeds of this plant, eaten as food)

   pulētie rīsi ― polished rice

   rīsu milti ― rice flour

   rīsu zupa, biezputra, pudiņš ― rice soup, porridge, pudding

   piena zupa ar rīsiem ― milk soup with rice

   daudzās valstīs, piemēram, Ķīnā, Indijā, Japānā, Pakistānā, Indonēzijā, rīsi ir glavenais uzturlīdzeklis ― in many countries, for instance, China, India, Japan, Pakistan, Indonesia, rice is the staple food

Unlike rudzi (“rye”) and kvieši (“wheat”), whose singular forms (rudzis, kviesis) are only sporadically attested, the singular forms of rīss (“rice”) are used reasonably often (especially to refer to the plant). Still, the plural forms are more frequent: the most normal translation for English rice as food (e.g., “a bowl of rice”) is the plural form rīsi.