תִּירָס (Tiras) — corn, maize

Etymology

The word Tiras originally appears in the Bible as one of the sons of Japheth (Genesis 10:2). In traditional Jewish scholarship, particularly by the 15th-century commentator Isaac Abarbanel, Tiras was identified with the Persians or the Turks. This identification became the linguistic bridge that allowed a biblical name to represent a New World crop.

When maize arrived in Europe from the Americas, it was often called "Turkish wheat" (Türkenkorn in German, grano turco in Italian) because it was seen as an exotic "Eastern" grain. In the late 18th century, Baruch Linda became the first to write about the plant in Hebrew, calling it חטי טורקיא (Chittei Turkia), a literal translation of the German name. By the 1880s, Hebrew writers sought a more authentic Hebrew name and settled on חטי תירס (Chittei Tiras — "Wheat of Tiras"), substituting the biblical name for "Turkey."

By the 1890s, Chittei Tiras had become the preferred term among farmers in Ottoman Palestine, beating out other proposals like חטי מנית (Chittei Manit). Because the two-word phrase was cumbersome for daily use, spoken Hebrew naturally shortened it to just תירס (Tiras). Within a few decades, this shortened form was adopted by the press and remains the standard modern Hebrew name for corn.

Key Quotes

"בְּנֵי יֶפֶת--גֹּמֶר וּמָגוֹג, וּמָדַי וְיָוָן וְתֻבָל; וּמֶשֶׁךְ, וְתִירָס" — Genesis 10:2

"והיותר מתיישב שתירס הוא פרס והוא טורקאש, כי כך היא הקבלה ביניהם שהם מבני פרס" — Isaac Abarbanel, 15th Century

Timeline

• Ancient Era: Tiras is recorded as a son of Japheth in the Bible.
• 15th Century: Abarbanel identifies the biblical Tiras with Turkey/Persia.
• 1492: Columbus encounters maize in the Americas.
• 1500s: Maize spreads through the Mediterranean, often called "Turkish wheat."
• 1789: Baruch Linda uses the term חטי טורקיא in his book Reshit Limudim.
• 1880s: Writers propose חטי תירס as a Hebrew alternative to the Slavic loanword kukuruz.
• 1890s: Farmers in the Land of Israel adopt חטי תירס.
• Early 20th Century: The term is shortened to תירס in common speech.

Related Words

• דּוֹרָה (Dura) — Sorghum; often confused with or used to name corn in early Arabic and Hebrew.
• חִיטָּה (Chitta) — Wheat; the original descriptor for corn before it was shortened.
• מָהִיס (Mahis) — Maize; a short-lived 19th-century Hebraization of the scientific name.