True, I was raised in Indiana and I never heard the word. We would have
thought someone was daft if they used that word. But the word corn was used
from ancient English times to mean any grain. All the Biblical references
to corn means that it was some type of grain but never the corn (maize) that
was only native to Americas. That is why finding sculptures of corn on the
cob at Rosslyn which was built in 1446 is so significant if one believes
that Columbus was the first European to North America. When the Europeans
began to encounter corn, I suppose they didn't have a name for it right away
but recognized it as a type of seed as in any grain so continued to call it
Corn. But at some place someone began to distinguish it by calling it
maize. Perhaps it was an name used by a certain Indian tribe. Probably by
the 2nd and 3rd generations this became standardized and the former broader
meaning of the word was lost.
Perhaps when one of these Yankees began discussing their crops with their
English friends they discovered the problem with the word corn and this
Yankee remembered vaguely that the Indians called it maize so the word was
adopted by the English. Now this last paragraph is pure speculation.
Laurel
----- Original Message -----
From: <JLG21447@aol.com>
To: <sinclair@matrix.net>
Sent: Thursday, June 01, 2000 10:04 AM
Subject: Re: Corn vs. Maize
> Living in Nebraska, which for those of you who don't know is in the center
of
> the United States, I've NEVER heard corn called maize here by anyone,
> especially those who grow it. When I read that it was referred to as maize
in
> North America, I wondered which part. Certainly not where I live.
>
> Johnnye St. Clair-Gerhardt
> [ This is the Sinclair family discussion list, sinclair@mids.org
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