a reedlike plant, Zingiber officinale, native to the East Indies but now cultivated in most tropical countries, having a pungent, spicy rhizome used in cookery and medicine. Compare ginger family.
2.
any of various related or similar plants.
3.
Informal. piquancy; animation: plenty of ginger in their performance of the dance.
4.
a yellowish or reddish brown.
–verb (used with object)
5.
to treat or flavor with ginger.
6.
Informal. to impart piquancy or spirit to; enliven (usually fol. by up): to ginger up a talk with a few jokes.
–adjective
7.
flavored or made with ginger.
[Origin: bef. 1000; ME ginger, gingivere < OF gingivre < L gingiber, for zingiberi < Gk zingíberis; r. OE gingiber < L, as above]
A plant (Zingiber officinale) of tropical southeast Asia having yellowish-green flowers and a pungent aromatic rhizome.
The rhizome of this plant, often dried and powdered and used as a spice. Also called gingerroot.
Any of several related plants having variously colored, often fragrant flowers.
Wild ginger.
A strong brown.
Informal Spirit and liveliness; vigor.
tr.v.
gin·gered, gin·ger·ing, gin·gers
To spice with ginger.
Informal To make lively: A steel drum band gingered up the party.
[Middle English gingivere, from Old English gingifer and from Old French gingivre, both from Medieval Latin gingiber, from Latin zingiberi, from Greek zingiberis, of Middle Indic origin (akin to Pali singiveram), from Dravidian : akin to Tamil iñci, ginger (of southeast Asian origin) + Tamil vēr, root.]
O.E. gingifer, from M.L. gingiber, from L. zingiberi, from Gk. zingiberis, from Prakrit (Middle Indic) singabera, from Skt. srngaveram, from srngam "horn" + vera- "body," so called from the shape of its root. But this may be Skt. folk-etymology, and the word may be from an ancient Dravidian name that also produced the Malayalam name for the spice, inchi-ver, from inchi "root." Cf. gin (v.).
Gin"ger\, n. [OE. ginger, gingever, gingivere, OF. gengibre, gingimbre, F. gingembre, L. zingiber, zingiberi, fr. Gr. ?; of Oriental origin; cf. Ar. & Pers. zenjeb[=i]l, fr. Skr. ???gav["e]ra, prop., hornshaped; ???ga horn + v["e]ra body.]1. (Bot.) A plant of the genus Zingiber, of the East and West Indies. The species most known is Z. officinale. 2. The hot and spicy rootstock of Zingiber officinale, which is much used in cookery and in medicine. Gingerbeer or ale, a mild beer impregnated with ginger. Ginger cordial, a liquor made from ginger, raisins, lemon rind, and water, and sometimes whisky or brandy. Ginger pop. See Ginger beer (above). Ginger wine, wine impregnated with ginger. Wild ginger (Bot.), an American herb (Asarum Canadense) with two reniform leaves and a long, cordlike rootstock which has a strong taste of ginger.
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