Nearby Words

spicing

Origin

spice

[spahys] ,noun, verb, spiced, spic·ing.
noun
1.
any of a class of pungent or aromatic substances of vegetable origin, as pepper, cinnamon, or cloves, used as seasoning, preservatives, etc.
2.
such substances collectively or as material: Cookies without spice can be tasteless.
3.
a spicy or aromatic odor or fragrance.
4.
something that gives zest: a spice of humor in his solemnity.
5.
a piquant, interesting element or quality; zest; piquancy: The anecdotes lent spice to her talk.
EXPAND
6.
Archaic. a small quantity of something; trace; bit.
COLLAPSE
verb (used with object)
7.
to prepare or season with a spice or spices.
8.
to give zest, piquancy, or interest to by something added.

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Spicing is always a great word to know.
So is doohickey. Does it mean:
a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.
a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.

Origin:
1175–1225; (noun) Middle English, aphetic form of Old French espice (French épice) < Latin speciēs appearance, sort, kind (see species), in Late Latin (plural): goods, wares, spices, drugs; (v.) Middle English spicen, in part derivative of the noun, in part < Old French espicer, derivative of espice

spice·a·ble, adjective
spice·less, adjective
spice·like, adjective
o·ver·spice, verb, -spiced, -spic·ing.
re·spice, verb (used with object), -spiced, -spic·ing.
EXPAND
un·spiced, adjective
well-spiced, adjective
COLLAPSE


5. tang, gusto, zip.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

spice
early 13c., from O.Fr. espice, from L.L. species (pl.) "spices, goods, wares," from L. "kind, sort" (see species). Early druggists recognized four "types" of spices: saffron, clove, cinnamon, nutmeg. Fig. sense of "slight touch or trace of something" is recorded from 1530s.
EXPAND
The verb, "to season with spices" is first recorded early 14c. (implied in spiced). Spicy is from 1560s; in the fig. sense of "racy, salacious" it dates from 1844. Spice-cake first attested 1520s.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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