noun
foxtail millet; Italian millet
Refers to the grain Setaria italica, a small yellow millet used in birdseed and traditional Japanese cooking.
粟は小鳥の餌によく使われる。
Foxtail millet is often used as bird feed.
祖母は粟餅を作るのが上手だ。
My grandmother is good at making millet cakes.
The kanji 粟 is a pictograph of a millet plant with grains on top. The reading あわ is native Japanese, with uncertain deeper origin.