ginger
/ˈd͡ʒɪnd͡ʒɚ/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.93 in modern English
8
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The pungent aromatic rhizome of a tropical Asian herb, Zingiber officinale, used as a spice and as a stimulant and acarminative.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "The position in the country and in this House might be well expressed by a reference to the recent activities of the ginger party in Great Britain — the party that demanded that more ginger be put into the conduct of the war."
- "He had, however, "put some more ginger in two nights ago. Things move with exasperating slowness in this country.”"
- "The party managers demanded more “ginger.”"
- "Can you buy dry ginger in Croatia? If not what is an alternative?"
- "Here’s, um, not toast but bread, anyway. And a can of ginger."
- "A lot of people will tell you ‘ginger’ tastes best in glass, and there is a science behind that,” says the company’s commercial director."
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English gingere, alteration of gingivere, from Old English gingifer, gingiber (influenced by Old French gingembre), from Medieval Latin gingiber, zingiber, from Latin zingiberi, from Late Ancient Greek ζιγγίβερις (zingíberis), from Sauraseni Prakrit 𑀲𑀺𑀁𑀕𑀺𑀯𑁂𑀭 (siṃgivera), ultimately from Old Tamil 𑀇𑀜𑁆𑀘𑀺𑀯𑁂𑀭𑁆 (iñcivēr), a compound of 𑀇𑀜𑁆𑀘𑀺 (iñci, “ginger”) and 𑀯𑁂𑀭𑁆 (vēr, “root”) (compare modern Tamil இஞ்சிவேர் (iñcivēr), from இஞ்சி (iñci, “ginger”) + வேர் (vēr, “root”)).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: gingere, gingifer, gingiber, zingiberi, ζιγγίβερις, 𑀲𑀺𑀁𑀕𑀺𑀯𑁂𑀭
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈd͡ʒɪnd͡ʒɚ/
- British English: /ˈdʒɪndʒə/
Usage
- Countable
- Uncountable
- Colloquial
- Derogatory
- Transitive verb
- Canadian usage
- British usage
- American usage
Inflected Forms
gingers (plural)
more ginger (comparative)
gingerer (comparative, rare)
most ginger (superlative)
gingerest (rare, superlative)
gingers (present, singular)
gingering (participle, present)
gingered (participle, past)
gingered (past)