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ginger

Pronunciation: /ˈdʒɪndʒə/

The English word “ginger” has 19 meanings listed here.

noun

  1. The pungent aromatic rhizome of a tropical Asian herb, Zingiber officinale, used as a spice and as a stimulant and acarminative.
  2. The plant that produces this rhizome.
  3. Other species belonging to the same family, Zingiberaceae, especially those of the genus Zingiber
  4. A reddish-brown color.
  5. A person with reddish hair; a redhead.
  6. Vitality, vigour, liveliness (of character).
  7. Ginger ale, or can or bottle of such (especially if dry).
  8. Any fizzy soft drink, or can or bottle of such; pop; soda.
  9. A homosexual.

adjective

  1. Of a reddish-brown color.
  2. Having hair or fur of this color.
  3. Very careful or cautious; also, delicate, sensitive.
  4. Homosexual.

verb

  1. To add ginger to.
  2. To enliven, to spice (up).
  3. To apply ginger to the anus of a horse to encourage it to carry its tail high and move in a lively fashion.
  4. To inspire (someone); to give a little boost to.
  5. To move gingerly, in a very careful and cautious manner.

adverb

  1. In a very careful or cautious manner; also, delicately, sensitively.

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,…

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.