'Triticum' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'triticum', where the root 'trit-' is associated with 'rubbing/threshing' (related to the Latin verb 'terere', to rub).

'Triticum' was used in Classical and Medieval Latin to mean 'wheat' and was carried into Modern botanical Latin; it was then adopted into English scientific usage unchanged as the genus name 'Triticum'.

Initially it meant 'wheat' in Latin, and over time it has retained that basic meaning but is now primarily used as the scientific genus name for wheat species.