The name 'Orissa' is derived from 'Rice'.
Rice is a cereal grain that is the seed of the grass species Oryza sativa (Asian rice) or Oryza glaberrima (African rice).
The previous name of Odisha was Orissa. It was named so owing to its rich rice varieties.
The term 'Orua' prevalent in Orissa since early times seems to be the same as the Greek 'Oruza' meaning rice, and the Oxford Dictionary states the 'Oroza' is a loan word in Greek from some oriental source. The 'Oretes' (Greek) or the 'Or'/'Odra' (Sanskrit) people may, therefore, mean either the Rice-eating; or the 'Rice growing' people.
