maize

n. corn; pale yellow color

Maize (Zea mays L. ssp. mays) is a cereal grain that was domesticated in Mesoamerica and then spread throughout the American continents. Maize spread to the rest of the world after European contact with the Americas in the late 15th century and early 16th century. The term maize derives from the Spanish form (maíz) of the Arawak Native American term for the plant. However, it is commonly called corn in the United States, Canada and Australia. Corn is a shortened form of "Indian corn", i.e. the Indian grain. The English word "corn" originally referred to a granular particle, most commonly cereal grains.  Hybrid maize is preferred by farmers over conventional varieties for its high grain yield, due to heterosis ("hybrid vigour"). Maize is the largest crop in all of the Americas (270 million metric tons annually in the U.S. alone).
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Noun
1. tall annual cereal grass bearing kernels on large ears: widely cultivated in America in many varieties; the principal cereal in Mexico and Central and South America since pre-Columbian times
(synonym) corn, Indian corn, Zea mays
(hypernym) cereal, cereal grass
(hyponym) field corn
(member-holonym) Zea, genus Zea
(part-meronym) corn, edible corn
2. a strong yellow color
(synonym) gamboge, lemon, lemon yellow
(hypernym) yellow, yellowness

(n.)
A large species of American grass of the genus Zea (Z. Mays), widely cultivated as a forage and food plant; Indian corn. Also, its seed, growing on cobs, and used as food for men animals.
  

[Folklore] American superstition had it that if a damsel found a blood-red ear of maize, she would have a suitor before the year was out.