el·eu·si·ne \ˌelyüˈsī(ˌ)nē\noun Etymology: New Latin, from Greek Eleusinē, a name for Demeter, goddess of grain 1.capitalized: a genus of grasses with digitate or rarely scattered spikes consisting of many-flowered spikelets — see ragi, yard grass 2.-s: any plant of the genus Eleusine