a tropical herbaceous plant, Sesamum indicum, of the East Indies, cultivated, esp in India, for its small oval seeds: family Pedaliaceae the seeds of this plant, used in flavouring bread and yielding an edible oil (benne oil or gingili)
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
ses•a•me /ˈsɛsəmi/USA pronunciation
n.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- Plant Biology[countable] a tropical plant with small oval edible seeds that also yield an oil.
- Plant Biology[uncountable] the seeds themselves, used as a flavoring.
ses•a•me
(ses′ə mē),USA pronunciation n.
- Plant Biologya tropical, herbaceous plant, Sesamum indicum, whose small oval seeds are edible and yield an oil.
- Plant Biologythe seeds themselves, used to add flavor to bread, crackers, etc.
- See open sesame. Also called benne (for defs. 1, 2).
- Greek sé̄samon sesame seed
- Latin sēsamum
- Greek sēsámē sesame plant
Akkadian shamashshammū, derived from shaman shammī plant oil; replacing sesam, late Middle English sysane - 1400–50
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'sesame seed' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):