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Cereal Has Roots in Roman Myth
The Roman goddess Ceres, the equivalent of the Greek Demeter, was a calm goddess who didn't take part in the quarrels of the other gods. Her particular responsibility was the food-giving plants, and for that reason the food grains came to carry her name. Cereals of the ancient Romans included wheat, barley, spelt, oats, and millet—but not corn (maize), which was a cereal of the Americas.
Examples of cereal in a Sentence
Melissa Kravitz Hoeffner, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2024
Stew Leonard’s, a supermarket chain that operates stores in Connecticut, New York and New Jersey, now has 24 cereal flavors or types, down from 49 in 2019.
—Anne D'innocenzio, Quartz, 12 Feb. 2024
See all Example Sentences for cereal 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cereal.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near cereal
Cite this Entry
“Cereal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cereal. Accessed 4 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
cereal
1 of 2 adjective
cereal
2 of 2 nounAdjective
derived from Latin cerealis "of grain," literally, "of Ceres," from Ceres (name of Roman goddess of grain)
Medical Definition
cereal
1 of 2 adjective
cereal
2 of 2 noun
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