OATMEAL / (ote-meel) / n. / 1. Ground kernels of Aveena sativa, an annual grass native to Asia and readily cultivated in nearly every continental state; / n. / 2. A common feed for livestock that is also popular as a warm breakfast porridge for humans; / n. / 3. The third most important grain crop in America that arrived in the New World with other grains in 1602; / n. / 4. A favorite grain of President George Washington, who devoted 580 acres of farmland to sowing oats; / n. / 5. A known cholesterol inhibitor when consumed; / n. / 6. A soothing agent that relieves itch and irritation associated with various skin ailments when pulverized, mixed with water, and applied topically, e.g., “Have your calm complexion—and eat your oatmeal, too.”


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