semiflint

English

Noun

semiflint (plural semiflints)

1. Maize or corn that is a hybrid where one parent species is flint and the other has a soft outer hull.
   • 1957, William H. Hatheway, Races of Maize in Cuba, page 28:

     Although its influence is clearly visible in many Criollo semiflints collected in 1954, "Maiz Gibara" is not popular with the small farmer who grows corn for home consumption.

   • 2005, James C McCann, Maize and Grace, page 84:

     They include red flints and semiflints, red dents, purple, mixed yellow and white, and variegated colors.

2. Clay that is hard rather than plastic but that lacks the conchoidal fracture pattern of flint.
   • 1927, Bulletin - Volumes 36-48, page 266:

     The calory- temperature curve for the flints and semiflints resembled one another very closely. The semiflints required a little greater heat to 1000°C.