1832, "grass yielding edible grain and cultivated for food," originally an adjective (1818) "having to do with edible grain," from French céréale (16c., "of Ceres;" 18c. in grain sense), from Latin Cerealis "of grain," originally "of Ceres," from Ceres, Italic goddess of agriculture, from PIE *ker-es-, from root *ker- (2) "to grow." The application to breakfast food cereal made from grain is American English, 1899.

Old English græs, gærs "herb, plant, grass," from Proto-Germanic *grasan (source also of Old Frisian gers "grass, turf, kind of grass," Old Norse, Old Saxon, Dutch, Old High German, German, Gothic gras, Swedish gräs"grass"), which, according to Watkins, is from PIE *ghros- "young shoot, sprout," from root *ghre- "to grow, become green," thus related to grow and green, but not to Latin grāmen "grass, plant, herb." But Boutkan considers grāmen the only reliable cognate and proposes a substrate origin.

As a color name (especially grass-green, Old English græsgrene) by c. 1300. Sense of "marijuana" is recorded by 1932, American English. The grass skirt worn by people native to tropical regions is mentioned by 1874; the warning to keep off the grass by 1843 (in New York City's Central Park). Grass-fed of cattle, etc., (opposed to stall-fed) is from 1774.

1570s, from sweet (adj.) + grass (n.). Perhaps so called for the fondness of cattle for it.

any type of grass growing in sand and serving to bind it, 1766; see sand (n.) + grass (n.).

hybrid cereal grass, 1952, from Modern Latin Triti(cum) "wheat" (literally "grain for threshing," from tritus, past participle of terere "to rub, thresh, grind," from PIE root *tere- (1) "to rub, turn") + (Se)cale "rye."

a cane-like grass also known as Indian millet, 1590s, from Modern Latin Sorghum, the genus name, from Italian sorgo "a tall cereal grass," probably from Medieval Latin surgum, suricum (12c.), perhaps a variant of Latin syricum "Syrian," as in Syricum (gramen) "(grass) of Syria," from Syria, which could have been a source of the plant or its grain to Italy in ancient times. The grass itself seems to have originated as a crop in East Africa.

1550s, "the grain of Indian corn;" 1580s of the cereal plant of the grass family that produces it, from Cuban Spanish maiz, from Arawakan (Haiti) mahiz, the native name of the plant. In Europe it was formerly also called Turkey corn; like the fowl, this is from mistaken notions of its origin.

also grass-land, "land perpetually under grass," 1680s, from grass + land (n.).

cereal food, 1934, from Turkish bulghur, bulgar.

also wire-grass, 1790, from wire (n.) + grass (n.).