ginger

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Contents

English [edit]

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Ginger rhizomes.

Pronunciation [edit]

Etymology 1 [edit]

Middle English gingere, alteration of gingivere, from late Old English gingifer, gingiber (influenced by Old French gingibre), from Medieval Latin gingiber, zingeber, from Latin zingiberi, from Late Greek ζιγγίβερις (zingíberis), from Middle Indic (cf. Pali siṅgivēra, Sanskrit शृङ्गवेर (śṛṅgavera)) (influenced by शृङ्गं (śṛṅgaṃ) ‘horn’), from Old Tamil iṅci vēr, literally, ‘ginger root’ (mod. Tamil இஞ்சி (iṅci) வேர் (ver)).

Noun [edit]

ginger (countable and uncountable; plural gingers)

  1. Any plant of a genus (Zingiber, especially Zingiber officinale) of tropical Asiatic and Polynesian herbs of a family (Zingiberaceae, the ginger family) with pungent aromatic rhizomes used as a condiment and as a stimulant and acarminative.
  2. The rhizome of this plant used as a spice either as it is or in dried powdered form.
  3. A reddish-brown colour/color.
    ginger colour:    
  4. (colloquial, countable) A person with reddish-brown hair; a redhead.
  5. (colloquial, uncountable) vitality, vigour, liveliness (of character)
Derived terms [edit]
terms derived from ginger (noun)
Translations [edit]
plant
spice
colour/color
person with reddish-brown hair
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Adjective [edit]

ginger (comparative more ginger, superlative most ginger)

  1. (used to describe hair) Of a reddish-brown colour.
  2. flavoured with ginger.
Translations [edit]
reddish-brown
flavor

Verb [edit]

ginger (third-person singular simple present gingers, present participle gingering, simple past and past participle gingered)

  1. To add ginger to.
  2. To enliven, to spice (up).
    • 1982, Lawrence Durrell, Constance, Faber & Faber 2004 (Avignon Quintet), p. 886:
      The accident was an excuse merely to replace an old-fashioned regular with old-fashioned notions by an active, fire-eating young general who would ginger things up.
Derived terms [edit]

Related terms [edit]

See also [edit]

Etymology 2 [edit]

EB1911 - Volume 01 - Page 001 - 1.svg This entry lacks etymological information. If you are familiar with the origin of this term, please add it to the page as described here.

Verb [edit]

ginger (third-person singular simple present gingers, present participle gingering, simple past and past participle gingered)

  1. To move gingerly.
    • 1972 September 1, Paul Hemphill, “‘I Gotta Let the Kid Go’”, in Life, ISSN 0024-3019, Volume 73, Number 9, page 42:
      Spring training began on Christmas Day, when my cousin and I gingered onto the lot behind the fire station to try out our new spikes.
    • 1979, Bill Marshall, Bukom,[1] Longman, ISBN 9780582642232, page 83:
      She gingered her way into the river and timidly splashed into its waters.
    • 1992, Donald Anderson, “My Name Is Stephen Mann”, in Aethlon, reprinted in Fire Road, University of Iowa Press (2001), ISBN 978-0-87745-778-7, page 11:
      I gingered my hands into my grandfather’s [boxing] gloves.
    • 2009, Montana Kid Hammer, The Old West Adventures of Ornery and Slim: The Partnership, AuthorHouse, ISBN 978-1-4389-1998-0, page 47:
      Takin’ good care not to topple into the depths o’ this muddy ol’ ooze, I gingered my way across the muddy path along the river’s edge until I arrived at that big hat.
Related terms [edit]

Etymology 3 [edit]

Cockney rhyming slang: ginger beer = queer

Noun [edit]

ginger (plural gingers)

  1. (UK, Cockney rhyming slang) a homosexual.

Adjective [edit]

ginger (not comparable)

  1. (UK, Cockney rhyming slang) homosexual.

Anagrams [edit]

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