gingern.adj.¹

Brit.

/ˈdʒɪn(d)ʒə/, U.S.

/ˈdʒɪndʒər/

Forms:

α. Old English gingifer, Old English gingifr- (inflected form), early Middle English gingiferan (accusative), early Middle English gingeuir, early Middle English gingiber, early Middle English gingiuere, early Middle English gingiure, early Middle English gingyfran (accusative), early Middle English giniure, early Middle English gyngyfere (accusative), Middle English gingefere, Middle English gingiuer, Middle English gingyuer, Middle English guingyur, Middle English gyngeffre, Middle English gyngener (transmission error), Middle English gyngeuere, Middle English gyngever, Middle English gyngevre, Middle English gyngiuer, Middle English gyngynyr (transmission error), Middle English gyngyuer, Middle English gyngyure, Middle English zinziber, 1500s ȝenȝybyr; N.E.D. (1899) also records a form late Middle English zenzyber.

β. Middle English gingere, Middle English guinger, Middle English gyndyr (transmission error), Middle English gyngire, Middle English gyngour, Middle English gyngre, Middle English gyngur, Middle English gyngure, Middle English gyngyre, Middle English–1500s genger, Middle English–1500s gynger, Middle English–1500s gyngere, Middle English– ginger, 1500s jeinger, 1900s– ginga (nonstandard, in sense A. 5a, /ˈɡɪŋə/); also Scottish pre-1700 gyingar, pre-1700 gynȝear.

γ. late Middle English gyngangre; N.E.D. (1899) also records a form late Middle English gyngangyre.

Origin: Of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from Latin. Partly a borrowing from French. Etymons: Latin gingiber; French gingembre.

Etymology: Originally < post-classical Latin gingiber (see below); subsequently reinforced by Anglo-Norman gingevere, gyngyver, ginguivre, gingefre, gingure, gynger, Anglo-Norman and Old French (Normandy) gingivere, Anglo-Norman and Old French, Middle French gingibre, gingembre (12th cent.; end of the 11th cent. in Rashi as jenjevre; French gingembre) < post-classical Latin gingiber (4th cent.; frequently from 12th cent. in British sources), variant of classical Latin zingiber , zingiberi (Pliny; in post-classical Latin also zinziber , zinziberi (6th cent.)) < Hellenistic Greek ζιγγίβερις , ζιγγίβερι (Dioscorides), < Pali siṅgivera or its etymon, a Dravidian compound < the Dravidian base of Malayalam iñci , Tamil iñci ginger (both with regular loss of an initial sibilant) + the Dravidian base of Malayalam vēr , Tamil vēr root (compare vetiver n.). The Dravidian base of e.g. Malayalam iñci is in turn a borrowing < an unidentified language of south-east Asia; for parallels in other, mutually unrelated, languages compare e.g. Khasi sying (pronounced /sʔiŋ/), Thai khing, Vietnamese gừng, Chinese jiāng (already in Old Chinese), all in sense ‘ginger’.Parallels in other languages. Compare Old Occitan gingibre , gingebre (12th cent.), Catalan gingebre (13th cent. as gingibre ), Spanish jengibre (13th cent. as gengibre , perhaps < Occitan), Portuguese gengibre (13th cent.), Italian zenzero (a1517), †zenzevero (13th cent. as çençevro ), †gengiovo (13th cent. as giengiovo ). Compare also ( < French) Middle Dutch gingebare , gengber (Dutch gember ; compare Old Dutch kyncaber , used as a surname), Old Saxon gigeberre (probably a transmission error for *gingeberre ), Old High German gingiber , ingiber (Middle High German gingeber , ingewer , German Ingwer ), Middle Low German gengever , engever , ingever , and ( < Middle Low German) Old Norwegian ingifer (Norwegian ingefær ), Old Swedish ingefär , ingefära (Swedish ingefära ), Old Danish ingæfær (Danish ingefær ). (The loss of the initial consonant in some of these languages is not fully explained, but is paralleled by Old High German enciān gentian < classical Latin gentiāna gentian n.) Welsh sinser (15th cent.) and Irish sinséar (15th cent. or earlier) are < English. Compare also Sanskrit śṛṅgavera (Prakrit siṅgabera ), folk-etymological alteration of the same Dravidian loanword, after śṛṅga horn n., on account of the appearance of the root. Compare further Arabic zanjabīl (already in the Qur'an (76:17), probably transmitted via an Iranian language and perhaps also via other Semitic languages), perhaps with folk-etymological influence from Zanj , a medieval name for a region in East Africa (see Zinjanthropus n.). (Influence from either Arabic zanjabīl (preceded by the definite article al ) or its probable (although unattested) variant *zinjabīl has been suggested for the occasional Spanish variant †agengibre (16th cent.), but this is more likely to show analogy within Spanish with other common words of Arabic origin, e.g. azucar sugar n., arroz arroz n.) For further discussion see A. S. C. Ross Ginger (1952) 15–22. Inflection in Old English. In Old English apparently sometimes inflecting as a strong feminine, sometimes as a weak feminine (apparently also occasionally as a weak masculine). Variant forms. In form zinziber at α. forms perhaps directly < Latin. The disyllabic type seen in the β. forms is paralleled in Anglo-Norman (where it is earlier, but also much rarer), but not in other varieties of French. In γ. forms perhaps influenced by Anglo-Norman and Middle French forms with a nasal vowel in the second syllable (e.g. gingembre , with assimilation to the vowel of first syllable); however, these forms have alternatively been interpreted as showing variants of gyngawdry n. Specific types of ginger. The phrases at sense A. 1b show medieval names for types of ginger, apparently based on their provenance (either of cultivation or trade). With gynger gebely compare post-classical Latin gingiber gebeli (15th cent.); the second element apparently ultimately reflects Arabic jabalī of or relating to a mountain (see javelina n.). In ginger colombyne apparently after Anglo-Norman gynger columbyn and Middle French gigembre columbin, gingembre coulombin (1360); compare Italian gengiovo columbino (14th cent.). The second element ultimately reflects post-classical Latin Columbum , the name of Kollam (Kerala) (14th cent.). In ginger maydelyn probably (with transmission errors) after Anglo-Norman gynger maykyn, gyngibre mekyn and Middle French gingibre mequin ginger from Mecca (first half of the 15th cent. or earlier); compare Middle French gingembre de Mesche (1378), and also Italian gengiovo mecchino , gengiovo della Mecca (14th cent.). In ginger valadyne perhaps after Anglo-Norman gynger belendyn (1394 or earlier); compare Italian gengiovo belledi (14th cent.). The second element apparently ultimately reflects Arabic baladī indigenous, rustic, of the country ( < balad country (see bled n.) + -ī -i suffix²). For further discussion see A. S. C. Ross Ginger (1952) passim. Other uses. In use with reference to a person (see sense A. 5a) sometimes pronounced /ˈɡɪŋə/ (chiefly in derogatory use), probably originally a humorous spelling pronunciation (after e.g. singer n.¹); in this use sometimes written ginga. In sense A. 10 short for ginger beer n. 2; in sense B. 3 short for ginger beer adj.

A. n.

I. Literal uses.

a. The rhizome of the plant Zingiber officinale, which has a distinctive aroma and hot spicy taste, and is used in cooking and as a medicinal agent.The rhizome can be used fresh, dried and powdered, or preserved with sugar or vinegar.black ginger, green ginger, Jamaica ginger, white ginger: see the first element.

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the world > food and drink > food > additive > spice > [noun] > ginger

gingereOE

white ginger?c1425

racec1450

ginger spice1530

rance1570

zingiber?1720

Jamaica ginger1818

the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > medicinal and culinary plants > medicinal and culinary plant or part of plant > [noun] > ginger plants > ginger root

gingereOE

green ginger1393

ginger root1597

ginger racea1658

hand1850

eOE Bald's Leechbk. (Royal) (1865) i. xiv. 56 Wiþ seaðan, recels lytel, swefl, swegles æppel, weax, gingifer.

OE Lacnunga (2001) I. clxx. 118 Nim þonne þyssa wyrta ælcre anre swa micel swa þara oþra twa, þæt is cymen & cost & piper & gingifra & hwit cudu.

?a1200 (?OE) Peri Didaxeon (1896) 11 Nim hwytne stor and senep and gingiber.

?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 272 Ne makede neauer strengðe of giniure [c1230 Corpus Cambr. gingiure, a1250 Nero gingiuere] ne of zeduale.

c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 8856 Muchel canele. & gingiuere & licoriz he hom lefliche ȝef.

?c1335 (a1300) Land of Cokaygne 73 in W. Heuser Kildare-Gedichte (1904) 147 (MED) Þe rote is gingeuir and galingale.

1366 in J. T. Fowler Extracts Acct. Rolls Abbey of Durham (1898) I. 45 In Ginger emp. in villa, 20d.

?c1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (Paris) (1971) 388 Braye ham..with a litel of gyngeuere.

?c1500 Mary Magdalene (Digby) l. 343 Ȝenȝybyr and synamom.

1562 W. Turner 2nd Pt. Herball f. 90 Ginger is not the roote of pepper as som haue iudged.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Twelfth Night (1623) ii. iii. 112 Yes by S. Anne, and Ginger shall bee hotte y' th mouth too.

1682 N. Grew Exper. Luctation ii. i. §11 in Anat. Plants 240 Ginger makes a small Bullition with Aqua fortis, only observable by a Glass.

1705 London Gaz. No. 4151/4 The Catharine Maurice..with her Cargo of Brown Sugar and Ginger.

1769 E. Raffald Experienced Eng. House-keeper ix. 221 To candy Ginger.

1811 A. T. Thomson London Dispensatory ii. 411 Dried ginger has a pungent aromatic odour, and a hot biting taste.

1870 J. Yeats Nat. Hist. Commerce 151 Jamaica ginger is considered to be the best.

1959 M. K. Khayat & M. C. Keatinge Food from Arab World (1965) 109 Reduce pressure, open cooker and add sugar, caraway, anise, cinnamon and ginger.

2005 Fresh Nov. 109/4 A slice or two of fresh ginger in a cup of hot water (ginger tea) makes a healthy tonic.

†b. With postmodifying adjective: ginger obtained from a particular place. Obsolete. rare.ginger colombyne was ginger from Kollam (on the coast of the state of Kerala in India); ginger maydelyn may have been ginger from Mecca, ginger gebely and ginger valadyne ginger from parts of India other than Kollam.

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1445 in P. E. Jones Cal. Plea & Mem. Rolls London Guildhall (1954) V. 83 (MED) Rawe silk, iiii bales; Brasill, xxx bales; Gynger gebely gret, vii barels; Gynger vert, xvii barels.

a1475 J. Russell Bk. Nurture (Harl. 4011) in Babees Bk. (2002) i. 126 Good gynger colombyne, is best to drynke and ete; Gynger valadyne & maydelyn ar not so holsom in mete.

2. The perennial herbaceous plant Zingiber officinale (family Zingiberaceae), which is probably native to tropical Asia but widely cultivated elsewhere, and has reed-like stems, lanceolate leaves, and yellowish-green flowers.

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the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > medicinal and culinary plants > medicinal and culinary plant or part of plant > [noun] > ginger plants

gingerc1400

ginger plant1708

wild ginger?1804

c1400 (?c1380) Pearl l. 43 (MED) Schadowed þis wortez..Gilofre, gyngure, & gromylyoun.

a1425 (?a1400) G. Chaucer Romaunt Rose (Hunterian) (1891) l. 1369 Ther was eke wexyng many a spice..Gyngevre and greyn de parys.

1553 R. Eden tr. S. Münster Treat. Newe India sig. Dv^v Ginger groweth in Calicut.

1599 R. Fitch in R. Hakluyt Princ. Navigations (new ed.) II. i. 265 The ginger groweth like vnto our garlike.

1609 R. Johnson Nova Britannia sig. D3^v Wee must plant also Orenges, Limons,..Ginger, Madder, Oliues, Oris, Summacke, and many such like.

1785 T. Martyn tr. J.-J. Rousseau Lett. Elements Bot. xi. 124 This order contains several interesting plants, such as Ginger, etc.

1879 Cassell's Techn. Educator (new ed.) I. 91 Ginger..is an elegant, reed-like tropical plant.

1929 H. A. A. Nicholls & J. H. Holland Text-bk. Trop. Agric. (ed. 2) i. v. 46 This [sc. propagation by division] is a very simple and sure way of multiplying those plants that have many roots and stems—such for instance as guinea grass, cardamoms, ginger, arrowroot.

2007 Olive May 88/1 Ginger, turmeric and sweet potatoes now all grow happily in Bradford city centre.

3. Frequently with distinguishing word. Any of the other plants of the genus Zingiber or of the family Zingiberaceae; any of various plants of other families that are thought to resemble ginger or are used in place of ginger. Occasionally also: the rhizome or root of such a plant.Indian ginger, mango ginger, wild ginger: see the first element.

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1597 J. Gerard Herball ii. lxvi. 293 It [sc. Capsicum] is thought to be that which Auicenne nameth Zinziber caninum, or dogs Ginger.

1629 J. Parkinson Paradisi in Sole 204 They are generally called of most Herbalists Anemones siluestres, Wilde Anemones or Windflowers. The Italians call them Gengeno salnatico [sic], that is, Wilde Ginger, because the rootes are, besides the forme, being somewhat like small Ginger, of a biting hot and sharpe taste.

1694 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 18 278 Kua or Zerumbeth of our Shops, a Species of Ginger.

1751 J. Hill Hist. Materia Medica 567 Herman has described it [sc. the plant that produces zerumbeth] under the Name of Zinziber latifolium sylvestre, the broad leaved wild Ginger.

1830 J. C. Loudon Hortus Britannicus 3 Cucurma Amada Rox. Amada-ginger.

1838 T. Thomson Chem. Org. Bodies 894 Amomum granum paradisi. The fruit of this species of ginger, known by the name of grains of paradise, is used in India.

1842 W. B. O'Shaughnessy Bengal Dispensatory 635 A[rum] Colocasia. Egyptian ginger.

1852 Cottage Gardener 3 June 143/2 The Italians call this [sc. Anemone ranunculoides] and some other kinds Wood Ginger, because the roots are tuberous and acrid, like those of the true ginger.

1913 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 22 Nov. 1401/1 Professor Greenish found one warehouse, just beyond the Tower, stored with Indian senna, Japanese ginger, nutmegs from Singapore or the West Indies, and also cinchona bark.

1931 M. Grieve Mod. Herbal (1967) II. 772/1 The pungency of the leaves [of common stonecrop] has obtained for the plant its specific name of acre, and the popular English name of Wallpepper and Wall Ginger.

1991 Aloha Aug. 40/1 There are magnificent arrangements created from ferns, heliconia, red ginger, protea and other flora gathered from the lush valleys and forests of the Garden Island.

2013 B. Haddad Thai Massage & Thai Healing Arts 135 Common Thai ginger is called plai: a different variety than the ginger that is available in Western groceries, but the medicinal properties are similar.

II. Extended uses.

4. A cock with reddish-brown plumage; (formerly) spec. one used for fighting.

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the world > animals > birds > order Galliformes (fowls) > family Phasianidae (pheasants, etc.) > hen or cock > [noun] > cock > with particular kind of plumage

ginger1785

henny1853

1779 J. Hawthorn Poems 13 Ginger ran, at half a dozen blows.]

1785 F. Grose Classical Dict. Vulgar Tongue at Ginger-pated Red cocks are called gingers.

1797 Sporting Mag. 9 338 In cocking, I suppose you will not find a better breed of gingers.

1857 W. H. Ainsworth Spendthrift xvi. 109 Examining the cocks, and betting with each other..this backing a grey, that a ginger.

1881 Poultry Monthly (Albany, N.Y.) Feb. 25/1 I have seen from a Spangle cock, or B. B. Red, beautiful Brown Reds in color, Gingers..and Brown-breasted Reds.

1934 Feathered World Year Bk. 158 The Gingers have risen to favour remarkably in recent years.

2004 Poultry World June 32/3 This ginger has only been out four times but on every occasion it's won best Oxford.

a. colloquial (originally and chiefly British). A person with reddish-yellow or (light) orange-brown hair, typically characterized by pale skin and freckles; (more generally) any person with reddish hair. Frequently as a nickname.Sometimes derogatory, reflecting negative attitudes towards red-headed people.

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the world > life > the body > hair > colour of hair > [noun] > red > person having

redhead1510

ginger1823

Titian1839

bricktop1841

rufus1846

sorrel-top1863

ginger nob1878

coppernob1880

bluey1892

ginge1911

ranga2003

1823 ‘J. Bee’ Slang 87 Ginger, another name for red-haired persons.

1861 Temple Bar Aug. 142 He was called Ginger at school, on account—boys are so rude and severe upon personal peculiarities—on account of his red hair,—for it was red, distinctly red.

1917 A. G. Empey Over Top 293 Ginger, nickname of a red-headed soldier.

1959 Times 5 Nov. 13/7 There is..nothing exclusive about the childish use of ‘banger’ for sausage..of ‘Nobby’ for a Clark or ‘Ginger’ for a redhead.

1996 Face Sept. 167/1 Overcoming being born a ginger and a Shirley, Ms Manson has changed neither.

2012 A. Karo Lexapros & Cons x. 39 All the gingers I've ever met have had tons of freckles. But not her.

b. A reddish-yellow or orange-brown colour, resembling that of dried and powdered ginger.Used esp. with reference to hair, fur, plumage, etc.

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the world > matter > colour > named colours > orange > [noun] > ginger

gingerline1611

ginger1846

1846 J. O. Halliwell Dict. Archaic & Provinc. Words I. 401/1 Ginger, a pale red colour.

1852 New Monthly Mag. July 351 His whiskers well trimmed, so as to show as much ginger and as little grey as possible.

1899 West-End 29 Mar. 240/1 There was more than a touch of what the rustic calls ‘ginger’ in his hair and he had the complementary florid skin.

1952 R. Bergman Trout (ed. 2) 31 In purchasing flies of this pattern you will find great variation in the shades of ginger; in fact often the color isn't ginger at all, but a light brown.

1972 Observer 19 Mar. 40/1 She's got a lot of ginger in her fur.

2015 B. Smith Dingo Deb. i. 12 Ginger is a dominant colour, and carries the genetic material for all three of the primary colours.

c. A cat with primarily orange-coloured fur, typically marked with stripes; a ginger cat. Cf. B. 1d.

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1874 Once a Week 2 May 396/2 There is a grey tabby.., a jet black, and a ginger.

1898 C. Gleig Edge of Honesty i. 4 The very cats have changed from sleek tabbie..to half-starved gingers.

1917 J. Hasbrouck tr. J. H. Fabre Insect Adventures II. iv. 55 The family of Gingers have been renewed:..new ones have come, including a full-grown Tom.

1967 A. Wilson No Laughing Matter ii. 70 This little ginger is going to do a number one if we're not careful.

2015 Third Sector (Nexis) 1 Oct. 12 Superstition means black cats are less popular than gingers or tabbies.

6. A showy, fast horse. rare (archaic in later use).

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the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > family Equidae (general equines) > horse defined by speed or gait > [noun] > swift horse

courserc1300

stirring horse1477

runnera1500

stirrer1570

spanker1814

ganger1817

ginger1825

clipper1836

traveller1889

speeler1893

pelter1899

1825 C. M. Westmacott Eng. Spy I. 86 If you want to splash along in glory with a ginger.

1951 G. Heyer Quiet Gentleman iii. 32 A technical and detailed description of all the proper high-bred 'uns, beautiful steppers, and gingers to be found in the Stanyon stables.

a. Ginger ale or ginger beer. Often with modifying word or phrase.Cf. stone ginger n. at stone n. Compounds 2a.

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1834 Reformers' Gaz. 28 June 11 Open that press, and help yourself to a glass of brandy and a bottle of ginger.

1898 G. B. Shaw You never can Tell in Plays Pleasant & Unpleasant II. ii. 54 Waiter... Stone ginger, miss?

1915 Amer. Bottler 15 Jan. 63/ In London a person cannot buy alcohol..after 10 o'clock at night, but he can get a dry ginger.

1932 Daily Gleaner (Kingston, Jamaica) 31 Mar. 3/4 (advt.) Why not mix your Whisky-Sodas, your Gin & Gingers..with the best—‘Schweppes’.

1993 F. Collymore RSVP to Mrs Bush-Hall 136 She [had] been steadily sipping away at far too many rum-and-gingers.

2015 S. Stephens & M. Eitzel Song from Far Away 25 I..ordered a double Scotch and ginger.

b. Scottish colloquial. A fizzy soft drink of any flavour.

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1973 ‘J. Patrick’ Glasgow Gang Observed v. 54 Some with milk and 'ginger' (lemonade) bottles in their hands.

1984 J. Kelman Busconductor Hines 31 Transistor radios playing, drinking bottles of ginger, the place stowed out with folk chatting about football.

1999 Herald (Glasgow) 30 Sept. 9 In Glasgow, before the war, all the shops used to brew their own ginger beer. That's why you still get wee boys going in for a bottle of lemonade and asking for a bottle of ginger.

2013 Observer (Nexis) 4 Aug. (Mag.) 14 The journalist Audrey Gillan, who grew up in a Glasgow housing scheme, remembers the visits of the ‘gingers’ van, delivering bottles of limeade on credit.

2015 Daily Rec. (Glasgow) (Nexis) 14 Feb. 6 Bishopbriggs Sports Centre. 1979... There was gossip around the estate that a new form of ‘ginger’ was available... It was like no fizzy drink we had ever experienced before.

8. slang (originally North American). Spirit, pep, energy; temper. Frequently in to put ginger (into), to show ginger.

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the mind > emotion > courage > spirit > [noun]

hearteOE

spirita1382

fierceness1490

stomach?1529

spritec1540

fire1579

mettle1581

rage1590

brave-spiritednessa1617

lion-heart1667

game1747

spunk1773

pluck1785

gameness1810

ginger1836

pluckiness1846

gimp1901

ticker1930

cojones1932

1836 T. C. Haliburton in Novascotian 27 Jan. 25/3 He's as spry as a colt yet, he's clear grit, ginger to the back bone.

1843 T. C. Haliburton Attaché I. xv. 261 Curb him [sc. a horse], talk Yankee to him, and get his ginger up.

1889 A. C. Gunter That Frenchman! xvi. 197 Look at her eyes—see 'em flash now—there's ginger for you!

1909 Westm. Gaz. 20 Aug. 11/4 When a big section of them are assailed with such ‘ginger’, to use an Americanism, they reply with scathing effect.

1919 Outing Mar. 325/2 (advt.) Getting up a rifle club, reviving one, or putting some ginger into the one you have just been elected President of.

1942 Spokesman-Rev. (Spokane, Washington) 12 Oct. 4/8 Why don't these troops show more ginger?

1985 P. Howard We Thundered Out 38/2 Adding a touch of ginger to..every article and paragraph in the paper.

2005 G. Lewis Carson xv. 179 These groups formed a credible opposition. Their purpose was to put some ginger into the direction of the war.

†9. Gold dust. Obsolete. rare.

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1887 Leisure Hour Jan. 21/1 Every night the books are balanced before the men leave, and the floor is swept, and should there be a discrepancy, the dust has to be picked over for ‘ginger’—such being the technical [word] for the missing morsels.

10. [Short for ginger beer n. 2.] slang (frequently derogatory and offensive). A homosexual man. Also as a mass noun: homosexuals in general; homosexuality.

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1968 A. Williams Brotherhood i. 38 ‘Unless you prefer ginger.’ ‘Ginger?’ ‘Beer, dear.’..‘You ever meet an Aussie who was queer?’

1976 ‘Gerald’ in J. Babuscio We speak for Ourselves ii. 24 One day, then, when no one was around, two louts claiming to hate gingers waited for us in the showers and took turns raping Babes, while a third geezer held me back.

2006 S. Mawer Swimming to Ithaca xi. 196 ‘He's an old queen.’ ‘He's a what?’ ‘A queen. Gay.’ She looks at him with laughter and amazement. ‘He's a ginger? I don't believe it.’

B. adj.¹

a. Of a reddish-yellow or orange-brown colour resembling that of dried and powdered ginger; denoting this colour.In later use esp. with reference to hair, fur, plumage, etc.

ΚΠ

1538 T. Elyot Dict. at Melinus Whyte russette, or a gynger coloure.

1594 P. Henslowe Diary 2 May (1961) 152 A payer of sylke stockines genger coler for xijs.

1616 T. Harrab tr. Tessaradelphus sig. D^v The Minister of Cottendiere preached in a sute of ginger colour.

1816 Morning Chron. 1 June 3/5 What is young Peel made of? Ginger hair, And Sir Robert's stare.

1841 R. Brown Dom. Archit. 262 Bedsteads... Ginger colour, hatched with gold, was a favourite style.

1897 Daily News 10 Sept. 2/6 Complexion and hair brown, moustache ginger.

1940 Manch. Guardian 6 May 10/1 He was rather an ordinary person in a way..except for his ginger beard.

1970 Y. Goldman tr. E. Kishon Blow Softly in Jericho 102 The most beautiful animals in nature are ginger, like the fox and the hoopoe.

1971 Vogue 15 Sept. 69 Ginger suede and leather shoulderbag. £40.50.

1973 J. G. Farrell Siege of Krishnapur i. 10 The Magistrate..was somewhat younger than the Collector and had the red hair and ginger whiskers of the born atheist.

1985 S. Syrovatkin tr. M. Saat What do we do about Mother? 67 Nearby a small ginger dog trots, now running ahead, now veering to one side.

1995 A. Guinness Diary 29 Sept. in My Name escapes Me (1996) 45 Dressed in a sort of romper suit of hairy ginger material.

2008 D. Liss Whiskey Rebels 390 These [sc. orangutans] were very tall, hairy creatures of a ginger color with uncannily long arms.

b. Of a cock or hen: having red plumage.

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1770 J. Robertson Poems 203 I came too late—my Ginger Cock was gone.

1834 T. Medwin Angler in Wales I. 35 I perceive a fine red or ginger game-cock in the yard.

1873 Prairie Farmer 4 Jan. 5/4 The true ginger hens (not cinnamons), breed the red-breasted ginger cocks.

1959 H. D. Williamson Sammy Anderson xi. 127 That moment proved to be the one that Fate had marked as being the last in the ginger rooster's allotted span.

1978 P. Grace Mutuwhenua (1988) xi. 70 Her ginger hen came, lifting each foot and placing it down precisely.

2008 P. J. Naughton Whistle Wood i. 20 Red hens search further down the lane. These are real ginger hens, plump, clean and bright with glowing feathers.

c. Of a person: having reddish-yellow or (light) orange-brown hair, and typically characterized by pale skin and freckles. Hence more generally: red-haired.

ΚΠ

1841 Bell's Life in London 19 Dec. Ginger men and women are not so much liked, for it is supposed that they are sudden and quick in quarrel.

1886 R. Holland Gloss. Words County of Chester Ginger, sandy-haired. ‘He's a bit ginger.’

1912 E. R. Lipsett House of Thousand Welcomes xxiii. 297 It would be an admirable match with that ginger fellow with the two big gold teeth.

1940 Lethbridge (Alberta) Herald 17 Feb. 4/5 Seen that little ginger girl lately?

1971 P. Callow Flesh of Morning xxi. 136 I opened the door all bleary and this little ginger chap is gaping at me like he's seen a ghost.

2015 Music Week 13 July 17/1 This ginger kid with a penchant for mixing raps, ballads and looped acoustic guitar riffs.

d. Of a cat: having primarily orange-coloured fur, typically marked with stripes.

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1863 G. A. Sala Breakfast in Bed 182 Aha! you'll worry a poor ginger cat's life out, you will?

1888 P. Allen Thanksgiving Tabernacle 194 A poor little half-starved ginger kitten, which had found its way..into the chopping-house.

1956 S. H. Bell Erin's Orange Lily ix. 126 From wall to wall the kitchen filled with..grey cats, brindled cats and ginger cats.

2014 Daily Tel. 12 Mar. 16/2 Audrey Hepburn croons to a ginger tom in Breakfast at Tiffany's.

2. Chiefly British and Australian. Of a group, organization, etc.: that provides spirit or stimulus in a party or movement; that presses for stronger or more radical policy or action. Chiefly in ginger group.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > will > motivation > [adjective] > inciting or instigating > of a person or group

driving1835

ginger1916

1916 Scotsman 16 Feb. 8/5 The new independent groups which had sprung up recently were known as ‘ginger’ groups.

1923 G. D. H. Cole Workshop Organization 37 A ‘ginger’ organization within the Trade Union movement.

1944 H. Croome You've gone Astray ii. 18 This little ginger group campaigning for better houses.

1970 Parl. Deb. House of Representatives (Austral. Parl.) No. 13. 735/1 He is assailed in sections of the Press as a rebel, as a ginger grouper, as somebody moving against stable government.

1994 Church Times 11 Nov. 4/2 A leader of the Evangelical ginger group Reform.

2010 W. J. Philpott in P. Smith Govt. & Armed Forces in Brit., 1856–1990 v. 146 Hankey suggested a small Cabinet ‘ginger’ committee to work with the CID to direct and co-ordinate rearmament.

3. [Short for ginger beer adj.] slang (frequently derogatory and offensive). Homosexual.

ΘΚΠ

the world > physical sensation > sexual relations > sexual orientation > homosexuality > [adjective] > homosexual

inverted1870

Uranian1883

homosexual1892

homogenic1894

camp1910

homosex1913

queer1914

homoerotic1915

homosexualist1920

homo1923

faggoty1928

tapette1930

fag1932

gay1934

so1937

same-sex1938

faggy1949

ginger beer1959

that waya1960

that way inclineda1960

ginger1965

minty1965

pink1972

leather1990

1965 M. Schofield Sociol. Aspects of Homosexuality vii. 140 Yes, there is one chap at work who is ginger. He's quite a decent sort.

1986 Spectator 25 June 16/1 A tenor came bounding on stage, having trouble with his wrists and generally mincing about. She leant over to whisper: ‘Can you say, if he's ginger, that he's also interested in Ugandan affairs?’

2004 J. Coldstream Dirk Bogarde ix. 204 He remembered Dirk as being more reserved than the others, and that the camera crew would sometimes call out ‘Oh, he's Ginger, inne?’

Phrases

U.S. by ginger: a mild expletive, probably a euphemism for by Jesus or by God. Now rare.

ΚΠ

1848 W. Euen Importance Early Correct Educ. Children vii. 53 Declarations too frequently made use of by children, such as ‘By Ginger,’ ‘By Gum,’ ‘By George,’ ‘I'll be dod darned,’ are by many supposed perfectly innocent.

1865 J. R. Lowell Lett. (1894) I. 348 There, by ginger! I meant to give the merest hint of a sentiment, and I have gone splash into a moral.

1930 Brainerd (Minnesota) Daily Disp. 13 Aug. 8/3 Well, by ginger, I'll bet you didn't learn much there.

1985 Plain Dealer (Cleveland, Ohio) 8 Apr. 1- c/4 Well, by ginger, Gene and I entered the contest, and would you believe, we walked off with the first prize.

Compounds

C1.

a. General attributive.

ginger biscuit n.

ΚΠ

1826 Mod. Confectionary 65 (heading) Ginger Biscuits.

1969 D. Gray Murder on Honeymoon xvi. 98 A plate piled with ginger biscuits.

2004 Eve Dec. 16 These ginger biscuits are always popular.

ginger cookie n.

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1844 A. L. Webster Improved Housewife 118 (heading) Ginger Cookies.

1880 Harper's Mag. Mar. 576/1 Aunty'll give you ginger-cookey this very minute!

1930 J. Dos Passos 42nd Parallel 445 He started to think about the smell of gingercookies.

2016 Times & Transcript (New Brunswick) (Nexis) 30 Jan. e1 I took home a ginger cookie..for an afternoon snack.

ginger juice n.

ΚΠ

1736 R. Brookes tr. J.-B. Du Halde et al. Gen. Hist. China IV. 10 He should take it in some of the Decoction of Cong couei and Orange-Peel, putting some Bamboo Water and Ginger-Juice in it.

1893 W. Dymock et al. Pharmacographia Indica III. 421 In Western India, ginger juice..is the popular remedy for vomiting.

2003 Budget Living Apr. 136/3 People lingering over the allegedly ‘Sexy Drink’—tequila and ginger juice.

ginger sauce n.

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?c1425 Recipe in Coll. Ordinances Royal Househ. (Arun. 334) (1790) 441 (MED) To make gynger sause. Take faire light bred..draw hit..with vinegur and pouder of ginger.

a1475 J. Russell Bk. Nurture (Harl. 4011) in Babees Bk. (2002) i. 152 Gynger sawce to lambe, to kyd, pigge, or fawn, in fere.

1822 F. Shoberl tr. I. Titsingh Illustr. Japan ii. 209 A small plate of fresh tripangs with ginger sauce.

2014 Time Out Kuala Lumpur Mar. 37/2 Pan-sautéed pork belly with ginger sauce.

ginger syrup n.

ΚΠ

1801 T. Dancer Med. Assistant 353 Squill, dried, in Powder, from 2 to 4 gr. in Ginger Syrup.

1916 National Druggist June 250/1 Get a crock of preserved Canton ginger, remove from the syrup... Place in fruit bowl..with sufficient of the ginger syrup..to cover it.

2015 A. Carruthers A-Z Homemade Syrups & Cordials at G Added to hot water and lemon, a little ginger syrup is a great natural remedy for sore throats and colds.

b. Parasynthetic and similative.

ginger-coloured adj.

ΚΠ

1594 P. Henslowe Diary 28 Apr. (1961) 152 Lent upon a genger colerd saten dublet..iij^li iiijs.

1597 R. Johnson 2nd Pt. Famous Hist. Seauen Champions iv. sig. F^v His Helmet glistered like an Isie mountaine, deckt with a plumbe of ginger coloured feathers.

1769 J. Reed Tom Jones i. 2 Here's wishing the next fox may give us as much sport, as that ginger-colour'd gentleman.

1862 R. F. Burton City of Saints (ed. 2) iii. 196 They proved to be ant-hills, on which light ginger-colored swarms were working hard to throw up the sand and gravel.

2015 Advertiser (Austral.) (Nexis) 14 June 16 The other man was tall and skinny, in his 50s, with ginger-coloured hair.

ginger-faced adj.

ΚΠ

1892 Forest & Stream 19 May 478/3 Toby [sc. a dog]..is a ginger-faced one, plain in head and without much quality.

1949 B. Davis Whisper My Name vi. 105 A ginger-faced Negro watched them patiently with still eyes, holding open the door of the car.

2001 J. Rix One Hot Penguin i. 10 He was a ginger-faced boy with freckles and a tangled mop of red hair cut straight across the front with pastry scissors.

ginger-hackled adj.

ΚΠ

1785 F. Grose Classical Dict. Vulgar Tongue Ginger hackled, red haired, a term borrowed from the cock pit, where red cocks are called gingers.

1839 W. H. Ainsworth Jack Sheppard I. ii. xii. 346 Somebody may be on the watch—perhaps, that old ginger-hackled Jew.

2014 J. A. Baron Bride for Baron ii. 39 A ginger-hackled footman careened to a stop.

ginger-haired adj.

ΚΠ

1830 Bell's Life in London 24 Oct. Jack Berry, a ginger-haired cove from Coventry.

1895 Daily News 10 Dec. 5/1 She is usually what an old writer calls ‘a ginger-haired hussy’.

1944 A. Thirkell Headmistress i. 28 The ginger-haired bicyclist..roared away up the street.

2006 D. Winner Those Feet 263 At the last moment, a tall ginger-haired boy..leaps like a top-class goalkeeper.

ginger red adj.

ΚΠ

1811 Sporting Mag. May 63/1 The cocks are in colour, all alike, what sportsmen call ginger-red.

1953 R. Campbell Mamba's Precipice 49 Two beautiful ginger-red Inyala cows.

2014 T. Saad From Feet Up vii. 58 Freddy and Marla looked like siblings. They had distinctive ginger red hair and freckles all over their milky-white faces.

C2.

ginger brandy n. an alcoholic cordial prepared by steeping bruised ginger in brandy.

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the world > food and drink > drink > intoxicating liquor > distilled drink > cordial > [noun] > kinds of

water of milk1542

wormwood wine1565

milk water1602

wormwood water1612

mint water1639

persico1709

saffron cordial1728

peppermint water1756

pimento water1760

mint tea1764

peppermintc1770

rum shrub1788

ginger brandy1838

peppermint cordial1847

cloves1853

currant-shrub1856

shrub1861

1838 Era 7 Oct. 23/3 (advt.) Liqueur ginger brandy.

1891 Daily News 23 Sept. 3/5 Witness gave him some hot spruce and ginger brandy, which eased him.

2005 S. Connors Fatal Error xviii. 85 Slappy pulled his coat around him and drew the bottle of ginger brandy out of his pocket and took a long swig.

ginger cake n. a cake flavoured with ginger; (in early use) gingerbread, esp. in the form of a cake.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > cake > [noun] > a cake > gingerbread

gingerbreada1450

dry leach1570

pepper-gingerbread1598

pepper bread1611

gingerbread nut1734

ginger cake1758

ginger nut1786

parkin1800

parliament gingerbread1809

parliament1812

parliament cake1818

parley1825

spice-nut1829

Pfefferkuchen1856

Hoosier cake1859

1758 ‘Claudero’ Poems Sundry Occasions 26 No more will she the Ginger Cake, After the Dram unto you break.

1844 W. T. Thompson Major Jones's Courtship (ed. 2) x. 87 I'm jest as good for old Miss Stallinses consent as a thrip is for a ginger cake.

1896 J. C. Harris Sister Jane 351 I'll bet a thrip to a ginger-cake that Mary got you in a corner out there in the garden and asked you to marry her.

1918 W. Faulkner Let. 9 Sept. in Thinking of Home (1992) 99 The ginger cake sounds good, and the oatmeal cookies.

1992 A. Bell tr. M. Toussaint-Samat Hist. Food i. 34 Molasses or black treacle began to replace honey around the Restoration period, and gingerbread gradually became more like the ginger cake of today.

ginger comfit n. now historical preserved ginger; a piece of confectionery made of this. [Compare also the following, although it is unclear whether they should be interpreted as showing an Anglo-Norman or a Middle English phrase (perhaps more likely the former; compare Middle French gingimbre confit (14th cent.)):

1365 in J. T. Fowler Extracts Acct. Rolls Abbey of Durham (1898) I. 127 Octo coffynȝ de Anys comfytt genger comfytt et geloffers, 8s.

1401–2 in J. T. Fowler Memorials Church SS. Peter & Wilfrid, Ripon (1888) III. 208 In ij unc. gingergumfet et annes, 6d.

]

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > preserve > [noun] > preserved ginger

gingerbread1228

ginger comfit1842

1842 G. Read Guide to Trade, Confectioner ix. 55 Ginger Comfits.—Flavour gum paste with powdered ginger, make it into small balls.

2009 H. Mantel Wolf Hall (U.S. ed.) v. ii. 405 After they get up from the table his guests eat ginger comfits and candied fruits.

ginger cordial n. a cordial strongly flavoured with ginger, and sometimes mixed with whisky or brandy.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > drink > intoxicating liquor > distilled drink > liqueur > [noun] > kinds of

rosa solis1564

rose wine1603

rose of solace1604

ros solis1607

ratafia1670

brandy-cherrya1687

cherry-brandy1686

kernel-water1706

cherry cordial1710

visney1733

walnut-water1747

aniseed1749

maraschino1770

noyau1787

rosolio1796

cherry-bounce1798

absinthe1803

Parfait Amour1805

curaçao1813

ginger cordial1813

citronelle1818

pine1818

crèmea1821

alkermes1825

Goldwasser1826

citronella1834

anisette1837

goldwater1849

crème de cassis1851

Van der Hum1861

chocolate liqueur1864

kümmel1864

chartreuse1866

pimento dram1867

Trappistine1877

green muse1878

rock and rye1878

Benedictine1882

liqueur brandy1882

mandarin1882

green1889

Drambuie1893

advocaat1895

Grand Marnier1900

green fairy1902

green peril1905

cassis1907

Strega1910

quetsch1916

cointreau1920

anis1926

Izarra1926

Southern Comfort1934

amaro1945

Tia Maria1948

amaretto1969

Sabra1970

sambuca1971

Midori1978

limoncello1993

1813 Hull Packet 28 Sept. A complete Assortment of other Cordials and Liqueurs is kept up..on which, as well as on the Ginger Cordial, a handsome allowance will be made to Dealers and Publicans.

1916 N. Munro in Evening News (Glasgow) 25 Dec. 2/5 It'll be great on snacks; ye'll hardly can get a ginger-cordial unless ye tak' a threepenny shepherd's pie alang wi't.

2002 New Statesman 2 Dec. 58 I love the fieriness of the ginger cordial.

† ginger-cordial v. Obsolete rare transitive to ply with ginger cordial.

ΚΠ

1853 C. Reade Christie Johnstone xi. 141 Flucker ginger-cordialed him; his sister bewitched him.

ginger-drinking n. now historical and rare the habit of drinking essence of ginger, formerly used as an intoxicant or mild narcotic.

ΚΠ

1871 R. C. Noake Bivouac 307 Other folks are thinking Each a hypocrite In his ginger-drinking.

1894 Daily News 10 July 6/2 Ginger-drinking is also a new form of alcoholomania.

1931 Time 26 Oct. 29/1 In many cases, where the ginger-drinking had been small, the victims recovered control of their heads and hands.

† ginger fern n. Obsolete rare the tropical American fern Olfersia cervina (family Dryopteridaceae).

ΚΠ

1847 P. H. Gosse & R. Hill Birds of Jamaica 381 Large ponds, in which tall and thick bulrushes densely grow, or masses of the great ginger-fern.

1903 Fern Bull. 11 59 A[crostichum] cervinum... Called ginger fern from the appearance of the sterile fronds.

† ginger grate n. Obsolete a ginger grater.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > equipment for food preparation > [noun] > grater

myour1316

grater1390

grate14..

bread grate1452

ginger grate1530

nutmeg-grater1623

bread grater1624

cheese grater1848

1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 225/1 Gynger grate, ratisseur a gingembre.

1661 Inventory in N. Cox & K. Dannehl Dict. Traded Goods & Commodities (2007) (O.E.D. Archive 2018) 6 ginger graets.

ginger jar n. a jar in which preserved ginger is stored; spec. a Chinese ceramic jar typically characterized by a rounded shape, small mouth, and domed lid, originally used to store and transport ginger or other spices, but subsequently used primarily as a decorative object.

ΚΠ

1856 Chambers's Edinb. Jrnl. 3 May 275/2 A large Indian ginger-jar.

1935 Burlington Mag. Oct. xx/1 A pair of famille verteginger jars of the Kang Hsi period.

2006 New Yorker 18 Dec. 78/2 Its furnishings included one of her mother's Sheridan love seats..and two enormous ginger jars.

ginger lily n. (a) any of the perennial herbaceous plants of the genus Hedychium (family Zingiberaceae), which are native to South, South-east, and East Asia and have reed-like stems and leaves and a spike of fragrant red, white, pink or yellow flowers; also called garland flower, garland lily; (b) any of the perennial herbaceous plants of the genus Alpinia (family Zingiberaceae), which are native mainly to warm parts of South and South-East Asia and have reed-like stems and leaves, a spike or panicle of white, yellow, pink, or red flowers, and a fragrant rhizome; also called shell flower, shell lily.

ΘΚΠ

the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > particular flower or plant esteemed for flower > [noun] > lily and allied flowers > allied flowers

dog's tooth1578

daylily1597

mountain saffron1597

phalangium1608

Savoy spiderwort1629

hemerocallis1648

tuberose1664

St Bruno's lily1706

superb lily1731

agapanthus1789

Spanish squill1790

erythronium1797

Tritoma1804

Spanish harebell1808

veltheimia1808

adder's tongue1817

bunch flower1818

Puschkinia1820

hedychium1822

eremurus1836

flame lily1841

lily pink1848

mountain spiderwort1849

lloydia1850

kniphofia1854

garland-flower1866

red-hot poker1870

swamp-lover1878

African lily1882

flame-flower1882

Scarborough lily1882

wood-lily1882

St. Bernard lily1883

torch-lily1884

rajanigandha1885

ginger lily1892

chinkerinchee1904

snow lily1907

sand lily1909

avalanche lily1912

Spanish bluebell1924

mountain lily1932

chink1949

poker1975

1892 Gardeners' Chron. 2 Jan. 20/3 A photograph of a group of ‘Ginger Lilies’—Hedychium coronarium—as growing in the Guianan forests.

1926 M. Leinster Dew on Leaf 8 A sickly odour of ginger-lilies.

1976 Hortus Third (L. H. Bailey Hortorium) 61/1 Alpinia Roxb... Ginger Lily.

2001 P. D. Scace Floral Artist's Guide 162 Common name [for Alpinia zerumbet ‘Variegata’]: Variegated Ginger, Variegated Ginger Lily.

2010 National Trust Mag. Summer 53/1 On the south-facing terraces below the house, the undeniably fiery crocosmias, ginger lilies and cannas set the hot summer scene.

† ginger-mad adj. Obsolete rare very fond of ginger tea.

ΚΠ

1802 S. T. Coleridge Let. 16 Nov. (1895) 413 The whole kingdom is getting ginger-mad.

ginger mint n. a widely cultivated hybrid mint with a gingery scent, Mentha × gracilis (or Mentha × gentilis), esp. in a form having green and gold variegated leaves.

ΚΠ

1943 My Garden Oct. 299 The little patch behind the lilac is the culinary corner. It grows tarragon, chives,..ginger-mint, sage,..balm and lemon-thyme.

1967 Gardeners' Chron. 4 Oct. 12/1 Ginger mint, M. gentilis ‘Variegata’, has yellow streaks along the venation of its golden-green leaves.

2004 K. N. Sanecki Discovering Herbs (ed. 7) 82 Mentha x gentilis (ginger mint or spicy mint) has smooth green leaves strongly splashed with yellow or coral red.

ginger nob n. British slang a red-haired person; (also) the head of such a person.

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the world > life > the body > hair > colour of hair > [noun] > red > person having

redhead1510

ginger1823

Titian1839

bricktop1841

rufus1846

sorrel-top1863

ginger nob1878

coppernob1880

bluey1892

ginge1911

ranga2003

1878 Fishing Gaz. 18 Jan. 29/2 This friend of mine had got a craze Inside his ginger nob.

1907 J. Masefield Tarpaulin Muster iv. 68 It wouldn't give me no pleasure..to have that ginger-nob in my chest.

1959 I. Opie & P. Opie Lore & Lang. Schoolchildren ix. 170 Red heads attract a barrage of nicknames:..gingernob, [etc.].

2001 L. Rennison Knocked out by my Nunga-nungas 19 He has an unfortunate similarity to spotty Norman... This is not enhanced by him being a ginger nob.

ginger nut n. British (a) a hard sweet biscuit strongly flavoured with ginger; (in early use also) a small ginger-flavoured cake, a round piece of gingerbread (cf. nut n.¹ 11); (b) (slang) a red-haired person.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > cake > [noun] > a cake > gingerbread

gingerbreada1450

dry leach1570

pepper-gingerbread1598

pepper bread1611

gingerbread nut1734

ginger cake1758

ginger nut1786

parkin1800

parliament gingerbread1809

parliament1812

parliament cake1818

parley1825

spice-nut1829

Pfefferkuchen1856

Hoosier cake1859

1786 J. Parke et al. Lyric Wks. Horace 316 Thy death we must deplore, Thy ginger-nuts and butter-bunns bewail.

1856 E. K. Kane Arctic Explor. II. xxviii. 276 Which a good aunt of mine had filled with ginger-nuts two years before.

1903 Bath Chron. 28 May 6/6 Defendant..alleged that Shell called him ‘Ginger-nut’, ‘Carroty-hair’, etc., while he had thrown stones at him.

1929 Cairns (Queensland) Post 5 Nov. 8/5 Why is a red-headed person never in want of a biscuit? Because he has a ginger nut always!

1930 A. Ransome Swallows & Amazons xxvii. 296 There were parkins and bath buns and rock cakes and ginger-nuts and chocolate biscuits.

1998 Zest Sept. 76/1 As I'm a natural redhead I used to get called ‘ginger nut’ at school.

2016 Daily Star (Nexis) 5 Feb. 8 A shortage of ginger nuts, custard creams and cream crackers.

ginger plant n. (a) the plant Zingiber officinale (see sense A. 2), or (in later use) other plant of the genus Zingiber or family Zingiberaceae (see sense A. 3); †(b) English regional tansy, Tanacetum vulgare (formerly used as a substitute for ginger in both in cooking and herbal medicine; cf. gingerbread n. 5b) (obsolete rare).

ΘΚΠ

the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > medicinal and culinary plants > medicinal and culinary plant or part of plant > [noun] > ginger plants

gingerc1400

ginger plant1708

wild ginger?1804

1708 tr. F. Cauche Voy. Madagascar 71 in New Coll. Voy. & Trav. I The Figure of the Ginger Plant [Fr. du gingembre], with its Leaves and Roots, is in Marcgravius's Nat. Hist. of Brasil..represented like the Stem and Leaves of a Cane, whereas that of the East Indies and Madagascar, is as here describ'd.

1832 E. Lankester Veg. Substances Food 357 The ginger plant has been cultivated in this country as a stove exotic since..1600.

1880 J. Britten & R. Holland Dict. Eng. Plant-names Ginger-plant, Tanacetum vulgare.

1889 C. Lumholtz Among Cannibals (1890) 297 If the leaves of the ginger-plant are used, they give the food a peculiar piquant flavour.

1999 Copeia 317/2 Nest mounds were interwoven by plant roots mostly from the ubiquitous ginger plant (Aframomum angustifolium).

2013 J. D. Mauseth Plants & People xiv. 351 Ginger plants for spice grow just like the ornamental gingers or bamboos.

† ginger race n. Obsolete = ginger root n.

ΚΠ

a1658 J. Cleveland Against Ale in Wks. (1687) 305 That Lover was in pretty Case, That trimm'd thee with a Ginger-race.

1664 S. Blake Compl. Gardeners Pract. 31 The root [of emrose] is like a Ginger-race in shape and bignesse.

1826 Steel's Ship-master's Assistant & Owner's Man. (ed. 17) vii. 299 Ginger race, or powdered.

ginger root n. the rhizome of the ginger plant; = sense A. 1a.

ΘΚΠ

the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > medicinal and culinary plants > medicinal and culinary plant or part of plant > [noun] > ginger plants > ginger root

gingereOE

green ginger1393

ginger root1597

ginger racea1658

hand1850

1597 J. Gerard Herball i. xxxviii. 55 I was not ignorant, that there had been oft Ginger rootes brought greene, new and full of iuice from the Indies to Antwerpe.

1829 J. Togno & E. Durand tr. H. Milne-Edwards & P. Vavasseur Man. Materia Medica vi. 172 Long pepper and ginger root.

2011 Y. Edwards Cupboard Full Coats x. 195 Delicately breaking ginger root with her fine, slim fingers.

ginger spice n. a hot, fragrant spice made from the dried and powdered rhizome of ginger.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > food > additive > spice > [noun] > ginger

gingereOE

white ginger?c1425

racec1450

ginger spice1530

rance1570

zingiber?1720

Jamaica ginger1818

1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 225/1 Ginger spyce, gingembre.

1881 M. P. Goff Household 416 Ginger Spice Cake.

1970 Trop. Root & Tuber Crops Tomorrow I. vi. 167/2 The odor of ginger spice is due to oleoresin, its essential oil content.

2016 North Shore (Brit. Columbia) News (Nexis) 24 Jan. a19 A lush palate of lychee and ginger spice.

† gingersuck n. Obsolete rare a type of sweet flavoured with ginger.

ΚΠ

1879 W. Besant & J. Rice Seamy Side in Time I. 71 ‘You can't have eaten all that!’ ‘Every penny, mother—parliament, toffee, and gingersuck.’

ginger tea n. a medicinal preparation made by steeping ginger in boiling water.

ΚΠ

?1770 H. Smith Family Physician (ed. 5) 20 Half a dram or a dram is the dose [of this powder], mixed in water, ginger tea, wine and water.

1822 J. M. Good Study Med. I. 574 The beverage [should] consist chiefly of coffee, ginger-tea, and acidulated waters.

2009 J. Struthers Red Sky at Night 241 If you're shivery, a cup of ginger tea is warming and comforting.

ginger wine n. an alcoholic drink made by fermenting a mixture of bruised ginger, sugar, and water.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > drink > intoxicating liquor > wine > non-grape and home-made wines > [noun] > others

cherry-winea1665

morello winea1665

strawberry winea1665

orange wine1675

raspberry wine1676

birch-wine1681

grape-wine1718

cowslip wine1723

barley wine1728

ginger wine1734

gooseberry1766

raspberry1768

mead-wine1794

parsnip wine1830

milk-wine1837

tea-wine1892

1734 Pract. Distiller (ed. 2) 46 (heading) Ginger Wine.

1837 C. Fox Jrnl. (1972) 9 Sept. 41 Mrs. Wordsworth..gave us ginger-wine and ginger-bread.

1857 T. Hughes Tom Brown's School Days i. ii. 31 A ‘feast-cake’ and bottle of ginger or raisin wine.

2012 Independent 6 July 45/4 A heady mix of bourbon, ginger wine, apricot syrup and angostura bitters.

† ginger-work n. Obsolete rare = gingerbread work n. at gingerbread n. and adj. Compounds 3.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > types of ornamentation > [noun] > cheap or gaudy

bawdrya1529

bravery1563

fangle1583

flaunt1590

gaudery1597

trumperya1616

ginger-work1631

frippery1637

finery1647

tawdrya1680

tawdrum1680

tinsey1685

flappet1728

gingerbread work1748

tinsel1782

fallalery1824

tinselry1830

figgery1841

flaring1881

1631 B. Jonson Bartholmew Fayre iii. vi. 48 in Wks. II Hence with thy basket of Popery, thy nest of Images: and whole legend of ginger-worke.

gingerwort n. now rare any plant of the family Zingiberaceae.

ΚΠ

1846 J. Lindley Veg. Kingdom 166 Formerly the Gingerworts and Marants were united in one tribe called Canneæ.

1871 S. Mateer Land of Charity vii. 94 The principal orders exemplified are grasses (including the giant bamboos), sedges, arums, palms, plantains, gingerworts, orchids, [etc.].

2003 P. Sillitoe Managing Animals New Guinea 130 The ground cover..varies from dense strands of saplings and trees..to masses of fleshy-leafed herbs, notably gingerworts (Zingiberaceae, Urticaceae) and ferns.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2017; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

单词	ginger
释义	gingern.adj.¹ Brit. /ˈdʒɪn(d)ʒə/, U.S. /ˈdʒɪndʒər/ Forms: α. Old English gingifer, Old English gingifr- (inflected form), early Middle English gingiferan (accusative), early Middle English gingeuir, early Middle English gingiber, early Middle English gingiuere, early Middle English gingiure, early Middle English gingyfran (accusative), early Middle English giniure, early Middle English gyngyfere (accusative), Middle English gingefere, Middle English gingiuer, Middle English gingyuer, Middle English guingyur, Middle English gyngeffre, Middle English gyngener (transmission error), Middle English gyngeuere, Middle English gyngever, Middle English gyngevre, Middle English gyngiuer, Middle English gyngynyr (transmission error), Middle English gyngyuer, Middle English gyngyure, Middle English zinziber, 1500s ȝenȝybyr; N.E.D. (1899) also records a form late Middle English zenzyber. β. Middle English gingere, Middle English guinger, Middle English gyndyr (transmission error), Middle English gyngire, Middle English gyngour, Middle English gyngre, Middle English gyngur, Middle English gyngure, Middle English gyngyre, Middle English–1500s genger, Middle English–1500s gynger, Middle English–1500s gyngere, Middle English– ginger, 1500s jeinger, 1900s– ginga (nonstandard, in sense A. 5a, /ˈɡɪŋə/); also Scottish pre-1700 gyingar, pre-1700 gynȝear. γ. late Middle English gyngangre; N.E.D. (1899) also records a form late Middle English gyngangyre. Origin: Of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from Latin. Partly a borrowing from French. Etymons: Latin gingiber; French gingembre. Etymology: Originally < post-classical Latin gingiber (see below); subsequently reinforced by Anglo-Norman gingevere, gyngyver, ginguivre, gingefre, gingure, gynger, Anglo-Norman and Old French (Normandy) gingivere, Anglo-Norman and Old French, Middle French gingibre, gingembre (12th cent.; end of the 11th cent. in Rashi as jenjevre; French gingembre) < post-classical Latin gingiber (4th cent.; frequently from 12th cent. in British sources), variant of classical Latin zingiber , zingiberi (Pliny; in post-classical Latin also zinziber , zinziberi (6th cent.)) < Hellenistic Greek ζιγγίβερις , ζιγγίβερι (Dioscorides), < Pali siṅgivera or its etymon, a Dravidian compound < the Dravidian base of Malayalam iñci , Tamil iñci ginger (both with regular loss of an initial sibilant) + the Dravidian base of Malayalam vēr , Tamil vēr root (compare vetiver n.). The Dravidian base of e.g. Malayalam iñci is in turn a borrowing < an unidentified language of south-east Asia; for parallels in other, mutually unrelated, languages compare e.g. Khasi sying (pronounced /sʔiŋ/), Thai khing, Vietnamese gừng, Chinese jiāng (already in Old Chinese), all in sense ‘ginger’.Parallels in other languages. Compare Old Occitan gingibre , gingebre (12th cent.), Catalan gingebre (13th cent. as gingibre ), Spanish jengibre (13th cent. as gengibre , perhaps < Occitan), Portuguese gengibre (13th cent.), Italian zenzero (a1517), †zenzevero (13th cent. as çençevro ), †gengiovo (13th cent. as giengiovo ). Compare also ( < French) Middle Dutch gingebare , gengber (Dutch gember ; compare Old Dutch kyncaber , used as a surname), Old Saxon gigeberre (probably a transmission error for gingeberre ), Old High German gingiber* , ingiber (Middle High German gingeber , ingewer , German Ingwer ), Middle Low German gengever , engever , ingever , and ( < Middle Low German) Old Norwegian ingifer (Norwegian ingefær ), Old Swedish ingefär , ingefära (Swedish ingefära ), Old Danish ingæfær (Danish ingefær ). (The loss of the initial consonant in some of these languages is not fully explained, but is paralleled by Old High German enciān gentian < classical Latin gentiāna gentian n.) Welsh sinser (15th cent.) and Irish sinséar (15th cent. or earlier) are < English. Compare also Sanskrit śṛṅgavera (Prakrit siṅgabera ), folk-etymological alteration of the same Dravidian loanword, after śṛṅga horn n., on account of the appearance of the root. Compare further Arabic zanjabīl (already in the Qur'an (76:17), probably transmitted via an Iranian language and perhaps also via other Semitic languages), perhaps with folk-etymological influence from Zanj , a medieval name for a region in East Africa (see Zinjanthropus n.). (Influence from either Arabic zanjabīl (preceded by the definite article al ) or its probable (although unattested) variant zinjabīl has been suggested for the occasional Spanish variant †agengibre* (16th cent.), but this is more likely to show analogy within Spanish with other common words of Arabic origin, e.g. azucar sugar n., arroz arroz n.) For further discussion see A. S. C. Ross Ginger (1952) 15–22. Inflection in Old English. In Old English apparently sometimes inflecting as a strong feminine, sometimes as a weak feminine (apparently also occasionally as a weak masculine). Variant forms. In form zinziber at α. forms perhaps directly < Latin. The disyllabic type seen in the β. forms is paralleled in Anglo-Norman (where it is earlier, but also much rarer), but not in other varieties of French. In γ. forms perhaps influenced by Anglo-Norman and Middle French forms with a nasal vowel in the second syllable (e.g. gingembre , with assimilation to the vowel of first syllable); however, these forms have alternatively been interpreted as showing variants of gyngawdry n. Specific types of ginger. The phrases at sense A. 1b show medieval names for types of ginger, apparently based on their provenance (either of cultivation or trade). With gynger gebely compare post-classical Latin gingiber gebeli (15th cent.); the second element apparently ultimately reflects Arabic jabalī of or relating to a mountain (see javelina n.). In ginger colombyne apparently after Anglo-Norman gynger columbyn and Middle French gigembre columbin, gingembre coulombin (1360); compare Italian gengiovo columbino (14th cent.). The second element ultimately reflects post-classical Latin Columbum , the name of Kollam (Kerala) (14th cent.). In ginger maydelyn probably (with transmission errors) after Anglo-Norman gynger maykyn, gyngibre mekyn and Middle French gingibre mequin ginger from Mecca (first half of the 15th cent. or earlier); compare Middle French gingembre de Mesche (1378), and also Italian gengiovo mecchino , gengiovo della Mecca (14th cent.). In ginger valadyne perhaps after Anglo-Norman gynger belendyn (1394 or earlier); compare Italian gengiovo belledi (14th cent.). The second element apparently ultimately reflects Arabic baladī indigenous, rustic, of the country ( < balad country (see bled n.) + -ī -i suffix²). For further discussion see A. S. C. Ross Ginger (1952) passim. Other uses. In use with reference to a person (see sense A. 5a) sometimes pronounced /ˈɡɪŋə/ (chiefly in derogatory use), probably originally a humorous spelling pronunciation (after e.g. singer n.¹); in this use sometimes written ginga. In sense A. 10 short for ginger beer n. 2; in sense B. 3 short for ginger beer adj. A. n. I. Literal uses. 1. a. The rhizome of the plant Zingiber officinale, which has a distinctive aroma and hot spicy taste, and is used in cooking and as a medicinal agent.The rhizome can be used fresh, dried and powdered, or preserved with sugar or vinegar.black ginger, green ginger, Jamaica ginger, white ginger: see the first element. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > food > additive > spice > [noun] > ginger gingereOE white ginger?c1425 racec1450 ginger spice1530 rance1570 zingiber?1720 Jamaica ginger1818 the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > medicinal and culinary plants > medicinal and culinary plant or part of plant > [noun] > ginger plants > ginger root gingereOE green ginger1393 ginger root1597 ginger racea1658 hand1850 eOE Bald's Leechbk. (Royal) (1865) i. xiv. 56 Wiþ seaðan, recels lytel, swefl, swegles æppel, weax, gingifer. OE Lacnunga (2001) I. clxx. 118 Nim þonne þyssa wyrta ælcre anre swa micel swa þara oþra twa, þæt is cymen & cost & piper & gingifra & hwit cudu. ?a1200 (?OE) Peri Didaxeon (1896) 11 Nim hwytne stor and senep and gingiber. ?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 272 Ne makede neauer strengðe of giniure [c1230 Corpus Cambr. gingiure, a1250 Nero gingiuere] ne of zeduale. c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 8856 Muchel canele. & gingiuere & licoriz he hom lefliche ȝef. ?c1335 (a1300) Land of Cokaygne 73 in W. Heuser Kildare-Gedichte (1904) 147 (MED) Þe rote is gingeuir and galingale. 1366 in J. T. Fowler Extracts Acct. Rolls Abbey of Durham (1898) I. 45 In Ginger emp. in villa, 20d. ?c1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (Paris) (1971) 388 Braye ham..with a litel of gyngeuere. ?c1500 Mary Magdalene (Digby) l. 343 Ȝenȝybyr and synamom. 1562 W. Turner 2nd Pt. Herball f. 90 Ginger is not the roote of pepper as som haue iudged. a1616 W. Shakespeare Twelfth Night (1623) ii. iii. 112 Yes by S. Anne, and Ginger shall bee hotte y' th mouth too. 1682 N. Grew Exper. Luctation ii. i. §11 in Anat. Plants 240 Ginger makes a small Bullition with Aqua fortis, only observable by a Glass. 1705 London Gaz. No. 4151/4 The Catharine Maurice..with her Cargo of Brown Sugar and Ginger. 1769 E. Raffald Experienced Eng. House-keeper ix. 221 To candy Ginger. 1811 A. T. Thomson London Dispensatory ii. 411 Dried ginger has a pungent aromatic odour, and a hot biting taste. 1870 J. Yeats Nat. Hist. Commerce 151 Jamaica ginger is considered to be the best. 1959 M. K. Khayat & M. C. Keatinge Food from Arab World (1965) 109 Reduce pressure, open cooker and add sugar, caraway, anise, cinnamon and ginger. 2005 Fresh Nov. 109/4 A slice or two of fresh ginger in a cup of hot water (ginger tea) makes a healthy tonic. †b. With postmodifying adjective: ginger obtained from a particular place. Obsolete. rare.ginger colombyne was ginger from Kollam (on the coast of the state of Kerala in India); ginger maydelyn may have been ginger from Mecca, ginger gebely and ginger valadyne ginger from parts of India other than Kollam. ΚΠ 1445 in P. E. Jones Cal. Plea & Mem. Rolls London Guildhall (1954) V. 83 (MED) Rawe silk, iiii bales; Brasill, xxx bales; Gynger gebely gret, vii barels; Gynger vert, xvii barels. a1475 J. Russell Bk. Nurture (Harl. 4011) in Babees Bk. (2002) i. 126 Good gynger colombyne, is best to drynke and ete; Gynger valadyne & maydelyn ar not so holsom in mete. 2. The perennial herbaceous plant Zingiber officinale (family Zingiberaceae), which is probably native to tropical Asia but widely cultivated elsewhere, and has reed-like stems, lanceolate leaves, and yellowish-green flowers. ΘΚΠ the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > medicinal and culinary plants > medicinal and culinary plant or part of plant > [noun] > ginger plants gingerc1400 ginger plant1708 wild ginger?1804 c1400 (?c1380) Pearl l. 43 (MED) Schadowed þis wortez..Gilofre, gyngure, & gromylyoun. a1425 (?a1400) G. Chaucer Romaunt Rose (Hunterian) (1891) l. 1369 Ther was eke wexyng many a spice..Gyngevre and greyn de parys. 1553 R. Eden tr. S. Münster Treat. Newe India sig. Dv^v Ginger groweth in Calicut. 1599 R. Fitch in R. Hakluyt Princ. Navigations (new ed.) II. i. 265 The ginger groweth like vnto our garlike. 1609 R. Johnson Nova Britannia sig. D3^v Wee must plant also Orenges, Limons,..Ginger, Madder, Oliues, Oris, Summacke, and many such like. 1785 T. Martyn tr. J.-J. Rousseau Lett. Elements Bot. xi. 124 This order contains several interesting plants, such as Ginger, etc. 1879 Cassell's Techn. Educator (new ed.) I. 91 Ginger..is an elegant, reed-like tropical plant. 1929 H. A. A. Nicholls & J. H. Holland Text-bk. Trop. Agric. (ed. 2) i. v. 46 This [sc. propagation by division] is a very simple and sure way of multiplying those plants that have many roots and stems—such for instance as guinea grass, cardamoms, ginger, arrowroot. 2007 Olive May 88/1 Ginger, turmeric and sweet potatoes now all grow happily in Bradford city centre. 3. Frequently with distinguishing word. Any of the other plants of the genus Zingiber or of the family Zingiberaceae; any of various plants of other families that are thought to resemble ginger or are used in place of ginger. Occasionally also: the rhizome or root of such a plant.Indian ginger, mango ginger, wild ginger: see the first element. ΚΠ 1597 J. Gerard Herball ii. lxvi. 293 It [sc. Capsicum] is thought to be that which Auicenne nameth Zinziber caninum, or dogs Ginger. 1629 J. Parkinson Paradisi in Sole 204 They are generally called of most Herbalists Anemones siluestres, Wilde Anemones or Windflowers. The Italians call them Gengeno salnatico [sic], that is, Wilde Ginger, because the rootes are, besides the forme, being somewhat like small Ginger, of a biting hot and sharpe taste. 1694 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 18 278 Kua or Zerumbeth of our Shops, a Species of Ginger. 1751 J. Hill Hist. Materia Medica 567 Herman has described it [sc. the plant that produces zerumbeth] under the Name of Zinziber latifolium sylvestre, the broad leaved wild Ginger. 1830 J. C. Loudon Hortus Britannicus 3 Cucurma Amada Rox. Amada-ginger. 1838 T. Thomson Chem. Org. Bodies 894 Amomum granum paradisi. The fruit of this species of ginger, known by the name of grains of paradise, is used in India. 1842 W. B. O'Shaughnessy Bengal Dispensatory 635 A[rum] Colocasia. Egyptian ginger. 1852 Cottage Gardener 3 June 143/2 The Italians call this [sc. Anemone ranunculoides] and some other kinds Wood Ginger, because the roots are tuberous and acrid, like those of the true ginger. 1913 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 22 Nov. 1401/1 Professor Greenish found one warehouse, just beyond the Tower, stored with Indian senna, Japanese ginger, nutmegs from Singapore or the West Indies, and also cinchona bark. 1931 M. Grieve Mod. Herbal (1967) II. 772/1 The pungency of the leaves [of common stonecrop] has obtained for the plant its specific name of acre, and the popular English name of Wallpepper and Wall Ginger. 1991 Aloha Aug. 40/1 There are magnificent arrangements created from ferns, heliconia, red ginger, protea and other flora gathered from the lush valleys and forests of the Garden Island. 2013 B. Haddad Thai Massage & Thai Healing Arts 135 Common Thai ginger is called plai: a different variety than the ginger that is available in Western groceries, but the medicinal properties are similar. II. Extended uses. 4. A cock with reddish-brown plumage; (formerly) spec. one used for fighting. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > birds > order Galliformes (fowls) > family Phasianidae (pheasants, etc.) > hen or cock > [noun] > cock > with particular kind of plumage ginger1785 henny1853 1779 J. Hawthorn Poems 13 Ginger ran, at half a dozen blows.] 1785 F. Grose Classical Dict. Vulgar Tongue at Ginger-pated Red cocks are called gingers. 1797 Sporting Mag. 9 338 In cocking, I suppose you will not find a better breed of gingers. 1857 W. H. Ainsworth Spendthrift xvi. 109 Examining the cocks, and betting with each other..this backing a grey, that a ginger. 1881 Poultry Monthly (Albany, N.Y.) Feb. 25/1 I have seen from a Spangle cock, or B. B. Red, beautiful Brown Reds in color, Gingers..and Brown-breasted Reds. 1934 Feathered World Year Bk. 158 The Gingers have risen to favour remarkably in recent years. 2004 Poultry World June 32/3 This ginger has only been out four times but on every occasion it's won best Oxford. 5. a. colloquial (originally and chiefly British). A person with reddish-yellow or (light) orange-brown hair, typically characterized by pale skin and freckles; (more generally) any person with reddish hair. Frequently as a nickname.Sometimes derogatory, reflecting negative attitudes towards red-headed people. ΘΚΠ the world > life > the body > hair > colour of hair > [noun] > red > person having redhead1510 ginger1823 Titian1839 bricktop1841 rufus1846 sorrel-top1863 ginger nob1878 coppernob1880 bluey1892 ginge1911 ranga2003 1823 ‘J. Bee’ Slang 87 Ginger, another name for red-haired persons. 1861 Temple Bar Aug. 142 He was called Ginger at school, on account—boys are so rude and severe upon personal peculiarities—on account of his red hair,—for it was red, distinctly red. 1917 A. G. Empey Over Top 293 Ginger, nickname of a red-headed soldier. 1959 Times 5 Nov. 13/7 There is..nothing exclusive about the childish use of ‘banger’ for sausage..of ‘Nobby’ for a Clark or ‘Ginger’ for a redhead. 1996 Face Sept. 167/1 Overcoming being born a ginger and a Shirley, Ms Manson has changed neither. 2012 A. Karo Lexapros & Cons x. 39 All the gingers I've ever met have had tons of freckles. But not her. b. A reddish-yellow or orange-brown colour, resembling that of dried and powdered ginger.Used esp. with reference to hair, fur, plumage, etc. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > colour > named colours > orange > [noun] > ginger gingerline1611 ginger1846 1846 J. O. Halliwell Dict. Archaic & Provinc. Words I. 401/1 Ginger, a pale red colour. 1852 New Monthly Mag. July 351 His whiskers well trimmed, so as to show as much ginger and as little grey as possible. 1899 West-End 29 Mar. 240/1 There was more than a touch of what the rustic calls ‘ginger’ in his hair and he had the complementary florid skin. 1952 R. Bergman Trout (ed. 2) 31 In purchasing flies of this pattern you will find great variation in the shades of ginger; in fact often the color isn't ginger at all, but a light brown. 1972 Observer 19 Mar. 40/1 She's got a lot of ginger in her fur. 2015 B. Smith Dingo Deb. i. 12 Ginger is a dominant colour, and carries the genetic material for all three of the primary colours. c. A cat with primarily orange-coloured fur, typically marked with stripes; a ginger cat. Cf. B. 1d. ΚΠ 1874 Once a Week 2 May 396/2 There is a grey tabby.., a jet black, and a ginger. 1898 C. Gleig Edge of Honesty i. 4 The very cats have changed from sleek tabbie..to half-starved gingers. 1917 J. Hasbrouck tr. J. H. Fabre Insect Adventures II. iv. 55 The family of Gingers have been renewed:..new ones have come, including a full-grown Tom. 1967 A. Wilson No Laughing Matter ii. 70 This little ginger is going to do a number one if we're not careful. 2015 Third Sector (Nexis) 1 Oct. 12 Superstition means black cats are less popular than gingers or tabbies. 6. A showy, fast horse. rare (archaic in later use). ΘΚΠ the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > family Equidae (general equines) > horse defined by speed or gait > [noun] > swift horse courserc1300 stirring horse1477 runnera1500 stirrer1570 spanker1814 ganger1817 ginger1825 clipper1836 traveller1889 speeler1893 pelter1899 1825 C. M. Westmacott Eng. Spy I. 86 If you want to splash along in glory with a ginger. 1951 G. Heyer Quiet Gentleman iii. 32 A technical and detailed description of all the proper high-bred 'uns, beautiful steppers, and gingers to be found in the Stanyon stables. 7. a. Ginger ale or ginger beer. Often with modifying word or phrase.Cf. stone ginger n. at stone n. Compounds 2a. ΚΠ 1834 Reformers' Gaz. 28 June 11 Open that press, and help yourself to a glass of brandy and a bottle of ginger. 1898 G. B. Shaw You never can Tell in Plays Pleasant & Unpleasant II. ii. 54 Waiter... Stone ginger, miss? 1915 Amer. Bottler 15 Jan. 63/ In London a person cannot buy alcohol..after 10 o'clock at night, but he can get a dry ginger. 1932 Daily Gleaner (Kingston, Jamaica) 31 Mar. 3/4 (advt.) Why not mix your Whisky-Sodas, your Gin & Gingers..with the best—‘Schweppes’. 1993 F. Collymore RSVP to Mrs Bush-Hall 136 She [had] been steadily sipping away at far too many rum-and-gingers. 2015 S. Stephens & M. Eitzel Song from Far Away 25 I..ordered a double Scotch and ginger. b. Scottish colloquial. A fizzy soft drink of any flavour. ΚΠ 1973 ‘J. Patrick’ Glasgow Gang Observed v. 54 Some with milk and 'ginger' (lemonade) bottles in their hands. 1984 J. Kelman Busconductor Hines 31 Transistor radios playing, drinking bottles of ginger, the place stowed out with folk chatting about football. 1999 Herald (Glasgow) 30 Sept. 9 In Glasgow, before the war, all the shops used to brew their own ginger beer. That's why you still get wee boys going in for a bottle of lemonade and asking for a bottle of ginger. 2013 Observer (Nexis) 4 Aug. (Mag.) 14 The journalist Audrey Gillan, who grew up in a Glasgow housing scheme, remembers the visits of the ‘gingers’ van, delivering bottles of limeade on credit. 2015 Daily Rec. (Glasgow) (Nexis) 14 Feb. 6 Bishopbriggs Sports Centre. 1979... There was gossip around the estate that a new form of ‘ginger’ was available... It was like no fizzy drink we had ever experienced before. 8. slang (originally North American). Spirit, pep, energy; temper. Frequently in to put ginger (into), to show ginger. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > courage > spirit > [noun] hearteOE spirita1382 fierceness1490 stomach?1529 spritec1540 fire1579 mettle1581 rage1590 brave-spiritednessa1617 lion-heart1667 game1747 spunk1773 pluck1785 gameness1810 ginger1836 pluckiness1846 gimp1901 ticker1930 cojones1932 1836 T. C. Haliburton in Novascotian 27 Jan. 25/3 He's as spry as a colt yet, he's clear grit, ginger to the back bone. 1843 T. C. Haliburton Attaché I. xv. 261 Curb him [sc. a horse], talk Yankee to him, and get his ginger up. 1889 A. C. Gunter That Frenchman! xvi. 197 Look at her eyes—see 'em flash now—there's ginger for you! 1909 Westm. Gaz. 20 Aug. 11/4 When a big section of them are assailed with such ‘ginger’, to use an Americanism, they reply with scathing effect. 1919 Outing Mar. 325/2 (advt.) Getting up a rifle club, reviving one, or putting some ginger into the one you have just been elected President of. 1942 Spokesman-Rev. (Spokane, Washington) 12 Oct. 4/8 Why don't these troops show more ginger? 1985 P. Howard We Thundered Out 38/2 Adding a touch of ginger to..every article and paragraph in the paper. 2005 G. Lewis Carson xv. 179 These groups formed a credible opposition. Their purpose was to put some ginger into the direction of the war. †9. Gold dust. Obsolete. rare. ΚΠ 1887 Leisure Hour Jan. 21/1 Every night the books are balanced before the men leave, and the floor is swept, and should there be a discrepancy, the dust has to be picked over for ‘ginger’—such being the technical [word] for the missing morsels. 10. [Short for ginger beer n. 2.] slang (frequently derogatory and offensive). A homosexual man. Also as a mass noun: homosexuals in general; homosexuality. ΚΠ 1968 A. Williams Brotherhood i. 38 ‘Unless you prefer ginger.’ ‘Ginger?’ ‘Beer, dear.’..‘You ever meet an Aussie who was queer?’ 1976 ‘Gerald’ in J. Babuscio We speak for Ourselves ii. 24 One day, then, when no one was around, two louts claiming to hate gingers waited for us in the showers and took turns raping Babes, while a third geezer held me back. 2006 S. Mawer Swimming to Ithaca xi. 196 ‘He's an old queen.’ ‘He's a what?’ ‘A queen. Gay.’ She looks at him with laughter and amazement. ‘He's a ginger? I don't believe it.’ B. adj.¹ 1. a. Of a reddish-yellow or orange-brown colour resembling that of dried and powdered ginger; denoting this colour.In later use esp. with reference to hair, fur, plumage, etc. ΚΠ 1538 T. Elyot Dict. at Melinus Whyte russette, or a gynger coloure. 1594 P. Henslowe Diary 2 May (1961) 152 A payer of sylke stockines genger coler for xijs. 1616 T. Harrab tr. Tessaradelphus sig. D^v The Minister of Cottendiere preached in a sute of ginger colour. 1816 Morning Chron. 1 June 3/5 What is young Peel made of? Ginger hair, And Sir Robert's stare. 1841 R. Brown Dom. Archit. 262 Bedsteads... Ginger colour, hatched with gold, was a favourite style. 1897 Daily News 10 Sept. 2/6 Complexion and hair brown, moustache ginger. 1940 Manch. Guardian 6 May 10/1 He was rather an ordinary person in a way..except for his ginger beard. 1970 Y. Goldman tr. E. Kishon Blow Softly in Jericho 102 The most beautiful animals in nature are ginger, like the fox and the hoopoe. 1971 Vogue 15 Sept. 69 Ginger suede and leather shoulderbag. £40.50. 1973 J. G. Farrell Siege of Krishnapur i. 10 The Magistrate..was somewhat younger than the Collector and had the red hair and ginger whiskers of the born atheist. 1985 S. Syrovatkin tr. M. Saat What do we do about Mother? 67 Nearby a small ginger dog trots, now running ahead, now veering to one side. 1995 A. Guinness Diary 29 Sept. in My Name escapes Me (1996) 45 Dressed in a sort of romper suit of hairy ginger material. 2008 D. Liss Whiskey Rebels 390 These [sc. orangutans] were very tall, hairy creatures of a ginger color with uncannily long arms. b. Of a cock or hen: having red plumage. ΚΠ 1770 J. Robertson Poems 203 I came too late—my Ginger Cock was gone. 1834 T. Medwin Angler in Wales I. 35 I perceive a fine red or ginger game-cock in the yard. 1873 Prairie Farmer 4 Jan. 5/4 The true ginger hens (not cinnamons), breed the red-breasted ginger cocks. 1959 H. D. Williamson Sammy Anderson xi. 127 That moment proved to be the one that Fate had marked as being the last in the ginger rooster's allotted span. 1978 P. Grace Mutuwhenua (1988) xi. 70 Her ginger hen came, lifting each foot and placing it down precisely. 2008 P. J. Naughton Whistle Wood i. 20 Red hens search further down the lane. These are real ginger hens, plump, clean and bright with glowing feathers. c. Of a person: having reddish-yellow or (light) orange-brown hair, and typically characterized by pale skin and freckles. Hence more generally: red-haired. ΚΠ 1841 Bell's Life in London 19 Dec. Ginger men and women are not so much liked, for it is supposed that they are sudden and quick in quarrel. 1886 R. Holland Gloss. Words County of Chester Ginger, sandy-haired. ‘He's a bit ginger.’ 1912 E. R. Lipsett House of Thousand Welcomes xxiii. 297 It would be an admirable match with that ginger fellow with the two big gold teeth. 1940 Lethbridge (Alberta) Herald 17 Feb. 4/5 Seen that little ginger girl lately? 1971 P. Callow Flesh of Morning xxi. 136 I opened the door all bleary and this little ginger chap is gaping at me like he's seen a ghost. 2015 Music Week 13 July 17/1 This ginger kid with a penchant for mixing raps, ballads and looped acoustic guitar riffs. d. Of a cat: having primarily orange-coloured fur, typically marked with stripes. ΚΠ 1863 G. A. Sala Breakfast in Bed 182 Aha! you'll worry a poor ginger cat's life out, you will? 1888 P. Allen Thanksgiving Tabernacle 194 A poor little half-starved ginger kitten, which had found its way..into the chopping-house. 1956 S. H. Bell Erin's Orange Lily ix. 126 From wall to wall the kitchen filled with..grey cats, brindled cats and ginger cats. 2014 Daily Tel. 12 Mar. 16/2 Audrey Hepburn croons to a ginger tom in Breakfast at Tiffany's. 2. Chiefly British and Australian. Of a group, organization, etc.: that provides spirit or stimulus in a party or movement; that presses for stronger or more radical policy or action. Chiefly in ginger group. ΘΚΠ the mind > will > motivation > [adjective] > inciting or instigating > of a person or group driving1835 ginger1916 1916 Scotsman 16 Feb. 8/5 The new independent groups which had sprung up recently were known as ‘ginger’ groups. 1923 G. D. H. Cole Workshop Organization 37 A ‘ginger’ organization within the Trade Union movement. 1944 H. Croome You've gone Astray ii. 18 This little ginger group campaigning for better houses. 1970 Parl. Deb. House of Representatives (Austral. Parl.) No. 13. 735/1 He is assailed in sections of the Press as a rebel, as a ginger grouper, as somebody moving against stable government. 1994 Church Times 11 Nov. 4/2 A leader of the Evangelical ginger group Reform. 2010 W. J. Philpott in P. Smith Govt. & Armed Forces in Brit., 1856–1990 v. 146 Hankey suggested a small Cabinet ‘ginger’ committee to work with the CID to direct and co-ordinate rearmament. 3. [Short for ginger beer adj.] slang (frequently derogatory and offensive). Homosexual. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > sexual relations > sexual orientation > homosexuality > [adjective] > homosexual inverted1870 Uranian1883 homosexual1892 homogenic1894 camp1910 homosex1913 queer1914 homoerotic1915 homosexualist1920 homo1923 faggoty1928 tapette1930 fag1932 gay1934 so1937 same-sex1938 faggy1949 ginger beer1959 that waya1960 that way inclineda1960 ginger1965 minty1965 pink1972 leather1990 1965 M. Schofield Sociol. Aspects of Homosexuality vii. 140 Yes, there is one chap at work who is ginger. He's quite a decent sort. 1986 Spectator 25 June 16/1 A tenor came bounding on stage, having trouble with his wrists and generally mincing about. She leant over to whisper: ‘Can you say, if he's ginger, that he's also interested in Ugandan affairs?’ 2004 J. Coldstream Dirk Bogarde ix. 204 He remembered Dirk as being more reserved than the others, and that the camera crew would sometimes call out ‘Oh, he's Ginger, inne?’ Phrases U.S. by ginger: a mild expletive, probably a euphemism for by Jesus or by God. Now rare. ΚΠ 1848 W. Euen Importance Early Correct Educ. Children vii. 53 Declarations too frequently made use of by children, such as ‘By Ginger,’ ‘By Gum,’ ‘By George,’ ‘I'll be dod darned,’ are by many supposed perfectly innocent. 1865 J. R. Lowell Lett. (1894) I. 348 There, by ginger! I meant to give the merest hint of a sentiment, and I have gone splash into a moral. 1930 Brainerd (Minnesota) Daily Disp. 13 Aug. 8/3 Well, by ginger, I'll bet you didn't learn much there. 1985 Plain Dealer (Cleveland, Ohio) 8 Apr. 1- c/4 Well, by ginger, Gene and I entered the contest, and would you believe, we walked off with the first prize. Compounds C1. a. General attributive. ginger biscuit n. ΚΠ 1826 Mod. Confectionary 65 (heading) Ginger Biscuits. 1969 D. Gray Murder on Honeymoon xvi. 98 A plate piled with ginger biscuits. 2004 Eve Dec. 16 These ginger biscuits are always popular. ginger cookie n. ΚΠ 1844 A. L. Webster Improved Housewife 118 (heading) Ginger Cookies. 1880 Harper's Mag. Mar. 576/1 Aunty'll give you ginger-cookey this very minute! 1930 J. Dos Passos 42nd Parallel 445 He started to think about the smell of gingercookies. 2016 Times & Transcript (New Brunswick) (Nexis) 30 Jan. e1 I took home a ginger cookie..for an afternoon snack. ginger juice n. ΚΠ 1736 R. Brookes tr. J.-B. Du Halde et al. Gen. Hist. China IV. 10 He should take it in some of the Decoction of Cong couei and Orange-Peel, putting some Bamboo Water and Ginger-Juice in it. 1893 W. Dymock et al. Pharmacographia Indica III. 421 In Western India, ginger juice..is the popular remedy for vomiting. 2003 Budget Living Apr. 136/3 People lingering over the allegedly ‘Sexy Drink’—tequila and ginger juice. ginger sauce n. ΚΠ ?c1425 Recipe in Coll. Ordinances Royal Househ. (Arun. 334) (1790) 441 (MED) To make gynger sause. Take faire light bred..draw hit..with vinegur and pouder of ginger. a1475 J. Russell Bk. Nurture (Harl. 4011) in Babees Bk. (2002) i. 152 Gynger sawce to lambe, to kyd, pigge, or fawn, in fere. 1822 F. Shoberl tr. I. Titsingh Illustr. Japan ii. 209 A small plate of fresh tripangs with ginger sauce. 2014 Time Out Kuala Lumpur Mar. 37/2 Pan-sautéed pork belly with ginger sauce. ginger syrup n. ΚΠ 1801 T. Dancer Med. Assistant 353 Squill, dried, in Powder, from 2 to 4 gr. in Ginger Syrup. 1916 National Druggist June 250/1 Get a crock of preserved Canton ginger, remove from the syrup... Place in fruit bowl..with sufficient of the ginger syrup..to cover it. 2015 A. Carruthers A-Z Homemade Syrups & Cordials at G Added to hot water and lemon, a little ginger syrup is a great natural remedy for sore throats and colds. b. Parasynthetic and similative. ginger-coloured adj. ΚΠ 1594 P. Henslowe Diary 28 Apr. (1961) 152 Lent upon a genger colerd saten dublet..iij^li iiijs. 1597 R. Johnson 2nd Pt. Famous Hist. Seauen Champions iv. sig. F^v His Helmet glistered like an Isie mountaine, deckt with a plumbe of ginger coloured feathers. 1769 J. Reed Tom Jones i. 2 Here's wishing the next fox may give us as much sport, as that ginger-colour'd gentleman. 1862 R. F. Burton City of Saints (ed. 2) iii. 196 They proved to be ant-hills, on which light ginger-colored swarms were working hard to throw up the sand and gravel. 2015 Advertiser (Austral.) (Nexis) 14 June 16 The other man was tall and skinny, in his 50s, with ginger-coloured hair. ginger-faced adj. ΚΠ 1892 Forest & Stream 19 May 478/3 Toby [sc. a dog]..is a ginger-faced one, plain in head and without much quality. 1949 B. Davis Whisper My Name vi. 105 A ginger-faced Negro watched them patiently with still eyes, holding open the door of the car. 2001 J. Rix One Hot Penguin i. 10 He was a ginger-faced boy with freckles and a tangled mop of red hair cut straight across the front with pastry scissors. ginger-hackled adj. ΚΠ 1785 F. Grose Classical Dict. Vulgar Tongue Ginger hackled, red haired, a term borrowed from the cock pit, where red cocks are called gingers. 1839 W. H. Ainsworth Jack Sheppard I. ii. xii. 346 Somebody may be on the watch—perhaps, that old ginger-hackled Jew. 2014 J. A. Baron Bride for Baron ii. 39 A ginger-hackled footman careened to a stop. ginger-haired adj. ΚΠ 1830 Bell's Life in London 24 Oct. Jack Berry, a ginger-haired cove from Coventry. 1895 Daily News 10 Dec. 5/1 She is usually what an old writer calls ‘a ginger-haired hussy’. 1944 A. Thirkell Headmistress i. 28 The ginger-haired bicyclist..roared away up the street. 2006 D. Winner Those Feet 263 At the last moment, a tall ginger-haired boy..leaps like a top-class goalkeeper. ginger red adj. ΚΠ 1811 Sporting Mag. May 63/1 The cocks are in colour, all alike, what sportsmen call ginger-red. 1953 R. Campbell Mamba's Precipice 49 Two beautiful ginger-red Inyala cows. 2014 T. Saad From Feet Up vii. 58 Freddy and Marla looked like siblings. They had distinctive ginger red hair and freckles all over their milky-white faces. C2. ginger brandy n. an alcoholic cordial prepared by steeping bruised ginger in brandy. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > drink > intoxicating liquor > distilled drink > cordial > [noun] > kinds of water of milk1542 wormwood wine1565 milk water1602 wormwood water1612 mint water1639 persico1709 saffron cordial1728 peppermint water1756 pimento water1760 mint tea1764 peppermintc1770 rum shrub1788 ginger brandy1838 peppermint cordial1847 cloves1853 currant-shrub1856 shrub1861 1838 Era 7 Oct. 23/3 (advt.) Liqueur ginger brandy. 1891 Daily News 23 Sept. 3/5 Witness gave him some hot spruce and ginger brandy, which eased him. 2005 S. Connors Fatal Error xviii. 85 Slappy pulled his coat around him and drew the bottle of ginger brandy out of his pocket and took a long swig. ginger cake n. a cake flavoured with ginger; (in early use) gingerbread, esp. in the form of a cake. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > cake > [noun] > a cake > gingerbread gingerbreada1450 dry leach1570 pepper-gingerbread1598 pepper bread1611 gingerbread nut1734 ginger cake1758 ginger nut1786 parkin1800 parliament gingerbread1809 parliament1812 parliament cake1818 parley1825 spice-nut1829 Pfefferkuchen1856 Hoosier cake1859 1758 ‘Claudero’ Poems Sundry Occasions 26 No more will she the Ginger Cake, After the Dram unto you break. 1844 W. T. Thompson Major Jones's Courtship (ed. 2) x. 87 I'm jest as good for old Miss Stallinses consent as a thrip is for a ginger cake. 1896 J. C. Harris Sister Jane 351 I'll bet a thrip to a ginger-cake that Mary got you in a corner out there in the garden and asked you to marry her. 1918 W. Faulkner Let. 9 Sept. in Thinking of Home (1992) 99 The ginger cake sounds good, and the oatmeal cookies. 1992 A. Bell tr. M. Toussaint-Samat Hist. Food i. 34 Molasses or black treacle began to replace honey around the Restoration period, and gingerbread gradually became more like the ginger cake of today. ginger comfit n. now historical preserved ginger; a piece of confectionery made of this. [Compare also the following, although it is unclear whether they should be interpreted as showing an Anglo-Norman or a Middle English phrase (perhaps more likely the former; compare Middle French gingimbre confit (14th cent.)): 1365 in J. T. Fowler Extracts Acct. Rolls Abbey of Durham (1898) I. 127 Octo coffynȝ de Anys comfytt genger comfytt et geloffers, 8s. 1401–2 in J. T. Fowler Memorials Church SS. Peter & Wilfrid, Ripon (1888) III. 208 In ij unc. gingergumfet et annes, 6d. ] ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > preserve > [noun] > preserved ginger gingerbread1228 ginger comfit1842 1842 G. Read Guide to Trade, Confectioner ix. 55 Ginger Comfits.—Flavour gum paste with powdered ginger, make it into small balls. 2009 H. Mantel Wolf Hall (U.S. ed.) v. ii. 405 After they get up from the table his guests eat ginger comfits and candied fruits. ginger cordial n. a cordial strongly flavoured with ginger, and sometimes mixed with whisky or brandy. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > drink > intoxicating liquor > distilled drink > liqueur > [noun] > kinds of rosa solis1564 rose wine1603 rose of solace1604 ros solis1607 ratafia1670 brandy-cherrya1687 cherry-brandy1686 kernel-water1706 cherry cordial1710 visney1733 walnut-water1747 aniseed1749 maraschino1770 noyau1787 rosolio1796 cherry-bounce1798 absinthe1803 Parfait Amour1805 curaçao1813 ginger cordial1813 citronelle1818 pine1818 crèmea1821 alkermes1825 Goldwasser1826 citronella1834 anisette1837 goldwater1849 crème de cassis1851 Van der Hum1861 chocolate liqueur1864 kümmel1864 chartreuse1866 pimento dram1867 Trappistine1877 green muse1878 rock and rye1878 Benedictine1882 liqueur brandy1882 mandarin1882 green1889 Drambuie1893 advocaat1895 Grand Marnier1900 green fairy1902 green peril1905 cassis1907 Strega1910 quetsch1916 cointreau1920 anis1926 Izarra1926 Southern Comfort1934 amaro1945 Tia Maria1948 amaretto1969 Sabra1970 sambuca1971 Midori1978 limoncello1993 1813 Hull Packet 28 Sept. A complete Assortment of other Cordials and Liqueurs is kept up..on which, as well as on the Ginger Cordial, a handsome allowance will be made to Dealers and Publicans. 1916 N. Munro in Evening News (Glasgow) 25 Dec. 2/5 It'll be great on snacks; ye'll hardly can get a ginger-cordial unless ye tak' a threepenny shepherd's pie alang wi't. 2002 New Statesman 2 Dec. 58 I love the fieriness of the ginger cordial. † ginger-cordial v. Obsolete rare transitive to ply with ginger cordial. ΚΠ 1853 C. Reade Christie Johnstone xi. 141 Flucker ginger-cordialed him; his sister bewitched him. ginger-drinking n. now historical and rare the habit of drinking essence of ginger, formerly used as an intoxicant or mild narcotic. ΚΠ 1871 R. C. Noake Bivouac 307 Other folks are thinking Each a hypocrite In his ginger-drinking. 1894 Daily News 10 July 6/2 Ginger-drinking is also a new form of alcoholomania. 1931 Time 26 Oct. 29/1 In many cases, where the ginger-drinking had been small, the victims recovered control of their heads and hands. † ginger fern n. Obsolete rare the tropical American fern Olfersia cervina (family Dryopteridaceae). ΚΠ 1847 P. H. Gosse & R. Hill Birds of Jamaica 381 Large ponds, in which tall and thick bulrushes densely grow, or masses of the great ginger-fern. 1903 Fern Bull. 11 59 A[crostichum] cervinum... Called ginger fern from the appearance of the sterile fronds. † ginger grate n. Obsolete a ginger grater. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > equipment for food preparation > [noun] > grater myour1316 grater1390 grate14.. bread grate1452 ginger grate1530 nutmeg-grater1623 bread grater1624 cheese grater1848 1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 225/1 Gynger grate, ratisseur a gingembre. 1661 Inventory in N. Cox & K. Dannehl Dict. Traded Goods & Commodities (2007) (O.E.D. Archive 2018) 6 ginger graets. ginger jar n. a jar in which preserved ginger is stored; spec. a Chinese ceramic jar typically characterized by a rounded shape, small mouth, and domed lid, originally used to store and transport ginger or other spices, but subsequently used primarily as a decorative object. ΚΠ 1856 Chambers's Edinb. Jrnl. 3 May 275/2 A large Indian ginger-jar. 1935 Burlington Mag. Oct. xx/1 A pair of famille verteginger jars of the Kang Hsi period. 2006 New Yorker 18 Dec. 78/2 Its furnishings included one of her mother's Sheridan love seats..and two enormous ginger jars. ginger lily n. (a) any of the perennial herbaceous plants of the genus Hedychium (family Zingiberaceae), which are native to South, South-east, and East Asia and have reed-like stems and leaves and a spike of fragrant red, white, pink or yellow flowers; also called garland flower, garland lily; (b) any of the perennial herbaceous plants of the genus Alpinia (family Zingiberaceae), which are native mainly to warm parts of South and South-East Asia and have reed-like stems and leaves, a spike or panicle of white, yellow, pink, or red flowers, and a fragrant rhizome; also called shell flower, shell lily. ΘΚΠ the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > particular flower or plant esteemed for flower > [noun] > lily and allied flowers > allied flowers dog's tooth1578 daylily1597 mountain saffron1597 phalangium1608 Savoy spiderwort1629 hemerocallis1648 tuberose1664 St Bruno's lily1706 superb lily1731 agapanthus1789 Spanish squill1790 erythronium1797 Tritoma1804 Spanish harebell1808 veltheimia1808 adder's tongue1817 bunch flower1818 Puschkinia1820 hedychium1822 eremurus1836 flame lily1841 lily pink1848 mountain spiderwort1849 lloydia1850 kniphofia1854 garland-flower1866 red-hot poker1870 swamp-lover1878 African lily1882 flame-flower1882 Scarborough lily1882 wood-lily1882 St. Bernard lily1883 torch-lily1884 rajanigandha1885 ginger lily1892 chinkerinchee1904 snow lily1907 sand lily1909 avalanche lily1912 Spanish bluebell1924 mountain lily1932 chink1949 poker1975 1892 Gardeners' Chron. 2 Jan. 20/3 A photograph of a group of ‘Ginger Lilies’—Hedychium coronarium—as growing in the Guianan forests. 1926 M. Leinster Dew on Leaf 8 A sickly odour of ginger-lilies. 1976 Hortus Third (L. H. Bailey Hortorium) 61/1 Alpinia Roxb... Ginger Lily. 2001 P. D. Scace Floral Artist's Guide 162 Common name [for Alpinia zerumbet ‘Variegata’]: Variegated Ginger, Variegated Ginger Lily. 2010 National Trust Mag. Summer 53/1 On the south-facing terraces below the house, the undeniably fiery crocosmias, ginger lilies and cannas set the hot summer scene. † ginger-mad adj. Obsolete rare very fond of ginger tea. ΚΠ 1802 S. T. Coleridge Let. 16 Nov. (1895) 413 The whole kingdom is getting ginger-mad. ginger mint n. a widely cultivated hybrid mint with a gingery scent, Mentha × gracilis (or Mentha × gentilis), esp. in a form having green and gold variegated leaves. ΚΠ 1943 My Garden Oct. 299 The little patch behind the lilac is the culinary corner. It grows tarragon, chives,..ginger-mint, sage,..balm and lemon-thyme. 1967 Gardeners' Chron. 4 Oct. 12/1 Ginger mint, M. gentilis ‘Variegata’, has yellow streaks along the venation of its golden-green leaves. 2004 K. N. Sanecki Discovering Herbs (ed. 7) 82 Mentha x gentilis (ginger mint or spicy mint) has smooth green leaves strongly splashed with yellow or coral red. ginger nob n. British slang a red-haired person; (also) the head of such a person. ΘΚΠ the world > life > the body > hair > colour of hair > [noun] > red > person having redhead1510 ginger1823 Titian1839 bricktop1841 rufus1846 sorrel-top1863 ginger nob1878 coppernob1880 bluey1892 ginge1911 ranga2003 1878 Fishing Gaz. 18 Jan. 29/2 This friend of mine had got a craze Inside his ginger nob. 1907 J. Masefield Tarpaulin Muster iv. 68 It wouldn't give me no pleasure..to have that ginger-nob in my chest. 1959 I. Opie & P. Opie Lore & Lang. Schoolchildren ix. 170 Red heads attract a barrage of nicknames:..gingernob, [etc.]. 2001 L. Rennison Knocked out by my Nunga-nungas 19 He has an unfortunate similarity to spotty Norman... This is not enhanced by him being a ginger nob. ginger nut n. British (a) a hard sweet biscuit strongly flavoured with ginger; (in early use also) a small ginger-flavoured cake, a round piece of gingerbread (cf. nut n.¹ 11); (b) (slang) a red-haired person. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > cake > [noun] > a cake > gingerbread gingerbreada1450 dry leach1570 pepper-gingerbread1598 pepper bread1611 gingerbread nut1734 ginger cake1758 ginger nut1786 parkin1800 parliament gingerbread1809 parliament1812 parliament cake1818 parley1825 spice-nut1829 Pfefferkuchen1856 Hoosier cake1859 1786 J. Parke et al. Lyric Wks. Horace 316 Thy death we must deplore, Thy ginger-nuts and butter-bunns bewail. 1856 E. K. Kane Arctic Explor. II. xxviii. 276 Which a good aunt of mine had filled with ginger-nuts two years before. 1903 Bath Chron. 28 May 6/6 Defendant..alleged that Shell called him ‘Ginger-nut’, ‘Carroty-hair’, etc., while he had thrown stones at him. 1929 Cairns (Queensland) Post 5 Nov. 8/5 Why is a red-headed person never in want of a biscuit? Because he has a ginger nut always! 1930 A. Ransome Swallows & Amazons xxvii. 296 There were parkins and bath buns and rock cakes and ginger-nuts and chocolate biscuits. 1998 Zest Sept. 76/1 As I'm a natural redhead I used to get called ‘ginger nut’ at school. 2016 Daily Star (Nexis) 5 Feb. 8 A shortage of ginger nuts, custard creams and cream crackers. ginger plant n. (a) the plant Zingiber officinale (see sense A. 2), or (in later use) other plant of the genus Zingiber or family Zingiberaceae (see sense A. 3); †(b) English regional tansy, Tanacetum vulgare (formerly used as a substitute for ginger in both in cooking and herbal medicine; cf. gingerbread n. 5b) (obsolete rare). ΘΚΠ the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > medicinal and culinary plants > medicinal and culinary plant or part of plant > [noun] > ginger plants gingerc1400 ginger plant1708 wild ginger?1804 1708 tr. F. Cauche Voy. Madagascar 71 in New Coll. Voy. & Trav. I The Figure of the Ginger Plant [Fr. du gingembre], with its Leaves and Roots, is in Marcgravius's Nat. Hist. of Brasil..represented like the Stem and Leaves of a Cane, whereas that of the East Indies and Madagascar, is as here describ'd. 1832 E. Lankester Veg. Substances Food 357 The ginger plant has been cultivated in this country as a stove exotic since..1600. 1880 J. Britten & R. Holland Dict. Eng. Plant-names Ginger-plant, Tanacetum vulgare. 1889 C. Lumholtz Among Cannibals (1890) 297 If the leaves of the ginger-plant are used, they give the food a peculiar piquant flavour. 1999 Copeia 317/2 Nest mounds were interwoven by plant roots mostly from the ubiquitous ginger plant (Aframomum angustifolium). 2013 J. D. Mauseth Plants & People xiv. 351 Ginger plants for spice grow just like the ornamental gingers or bamboos. † ginger race n. Obsolete = ginger root n. ΚΠ a1658 J. Cleveland Against Ale in Wks. (1687) 305 That Lover was in pretty Case, That trimm'd thee with a Ginger-race. 1664 S. Blake Compl. Gardeners Pract. 31 The root [of emrose] is like a Ginger-race in shape and bignesse. 1826 Steel's Ship-master's Assistant & Owner's Man. (ed. 17) vii. 299 Ginger race, or powdered. ginger root n. the rhizome of the ginger plant; = sense A. 1a. ΘΚΠ the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > medicinal and culinary plants > medicinal and culinary plant or part of plant > [noun] > ginger plants > ginger root gingereOE green ginger1393 ginger root1597 ginger racea1658 hand1850 1597 J. Gerard Herball i. xxxviii. 55 I was not ignorant, that there had been oft Ginger rootes brought greene, new and full of iuice from the Indies to Antwerpe. 1829 J. Togno & E. Durand tr. H. Milne-Edwards & P. Vavasseur Man. Materia Medica vi. 172 Long pepper and ginger root. 2011 Y. Edwards Cupboard Full Coats x. 195 Delicately breaking ginger root with her fine, slim fingers. ginger spice n. a hot, fragrant spice made from the dried and powdered rhizome of ginger. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > food > additive > spice > [noun] > ginger gingereOE white ginger?c1425 racec1450 ginger spice1530 rance1570 zingiber?1720 Jamaica ginger1818 1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 225/1 Ginger spyce, gingembre. 1881 M. P. Goff Household 416 Ginger Spice Cake. 1970 Trop. Root & Tuber Crops Tomorrow I. vi. 167/2 The odor of ginger spice is due to oleoresin, its essential oil content. 2016 North Shore (Brit. Columbia) News (Nexis) 24 Jan. a19 A lush palate of lychee and ginger spice. † gingersuck n. Obsolete rare a type of sweet flavoured with ginger. ΚΠ 1879 W. Besant & J. Rice Seamy Side in Time I. 71 ‘You can't have eaten all that!’ ‘Every penny, mother—parliament, toffee, and gingersuck.’ ginger tea n. a medicinal preparation made by steeping ginger in boiling water. ΚΠ ?1770 H. Smith Family Physician (ed. 5) 20 Half a dram or a dram is the dose [of this powder], mixed in water, ginger tea, wine and water. 1822 J. M. Good Study Med. I. 574 The beverage [should] consist chiefly of coffee, ginger-tea, and acidulated waters. 2009 J. Struthers Red Sky at Night 241 If you're shivery, a cup of ginger tea is warming and comforting. ginger wine n. an alcoholic drink made by fermenting a mixture of bruised ginger, sugar, and water. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > drink > intoxicating liquor > wine > non-grape and home-made wines > [noun] > others cherry-winea1665 morello winea1665 strawberry winea1665 orange wine1675 raspberry wine1676 birch-wine1681 grape-wine1718 cowslip wine1723 barley wine1728 ginger wine1734 gooseberry1766 raspberry1768 mead-wine1794 parsnip wine1830 milk-wine1837 tea-wine1892 1734 Pract. Distiller (ed. 2) 46 (heading) Ginger Wine. 1837 C. Fox Jrnl. (1972) 9 Sept. 41 Mrs. Wordsworth..gave us ginger-wine and ginger-bread. 1857 T. Hughes Tom Brown's School Days i. ii. 31 A ‘feast-cake’ and bottle of ginger or raisin wine. 2012 Independent 6 July 45/4 A heady mix of bourbon, ginger wine, apricot syrup and angostura bitters. † ginger-work n. Obsolete rare = gingerbread work n. at gingerbread n. and adj. Compounds 3. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > types of ornamentation > [noun] > cheap or gaudy bawdrya1529 bravery1563 fangle1583 flaunt1590 gaudery1597 trumperya1616 ginger-work1631 frippery1637 finery1647 tawdrya1680 tawdrum1680 tinsey1685 flappet1728 gingerbread work1748 tinsel1782 fallalery1824 tinselry1830 figgery1841 flaring1881 1631 B. Jonson Bartholmew Fayre iii. vi. 48 in Wks. II Hence with thy basket of Popery, thy nest of Images: and whole legend of ginger-worke. gingerwort n. now rare any plant of the family Zingiberaceae. ΚΠ 1846 J. Lindley Veg. Kingdom 166 Formerly the Gingerworts and Marants were united in one tribe called Canneæ. 1871 S. Mateer Land of Charity vii. 94 The principal orders exemplified are grasses (including the giant bamboos), sedges, arums, palms, plantains, gingerworts, orchids, [etc.]. 2003 P. Sillitoe Managing Animals New Guinea 130 The ground cover..varies from dense strands of saplings and trees..to masses of fleshy-leafed herbs, notably gingerworts (Zingiberaceae, Urticaceae) and ferns. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2017; most recently modified version published online June 2022). gingeradj.²adv. Brit. /ˈdʒɪn(d)ʒə/, U.S. /ˈdʒɪndʒər/ Origin: Formed within English, by back-formation. Etymon: gingerly adv. Etymology: Back-formation < gingerly adv. Compare earlier gingerly adj. In later use chiefly English regional and North American. Cautious, careful; gentle (cf. gingerly adj.). Also: easily hurt or broken; sensitive, fragile. Also as adv. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > manner of action > care, carefulness, or attention > caution > [adjective] warelyOE warec1000 adviseda1325 averty1330 aware1340 ferdfula1382 well-advisedc1405 circumspect1430 hooly1513 fearful1526 curiousa1533 chary1542 wareful1548 cautelous1574 cauty1579 careful1580 wary1580 retentive1599 wary1599 ginger1600 circumstant1603 cautel1606 shya1616 cautionate1616 warisome1628 cautiousa1640 circumspectious1649 circumspectivea1674 gingerish1764 safe1874 pussy-footed1893 pussyfooting1926 risk-averse1961 risk-adverse1969 1600 tr. T. Garzoni Hosp. Incurable Fooles 8 This man is verie ginger, & dangerous of himselfe, vpon his traine of three or foure raggie heeld followers. [It. Chi và in brodetto e in geladina da se stesso per hauer la coda di quattro scalzi attorno.] 1675 C. Cotton Venus & Cupid in Burlesque upon Burlesque 41 But yet was not the Squelch so ginger, But that I sprain'd my little Finger. 1864 E. Waugh Tufts of Heather from Lancs. Moors: Barrel Organ 19 Mind what yo'r doin'; an' be as ginger as yo con. 1886 R. Holland Gloss. Words County of Chester Suppl. 416 Mind how yo sit yo dain, that cheer's very ginger. 1905 Official Rep. Deb. House Commons Canada (10th Parl. 1st Sess.) LXXII. 6738 I have no doubt I have touched on a very ginger spot. The Minister of Finance has seen some very ginger spots lately and is always willing to jump to the rescue. 1924 J. H. Wilkinson Leeds Dial. Gloss. & Lore 119 If thah's goin' i' t' t'other room thah'd better go in ginger or else thah'll wakken thi mother asleep on t' sofa. 1963 Portsmouth (New Hampsh.) Herald 24 Apr. 14/1 Robbins is working on his golf swing and he has to be rather ‘ginger’ these days. He hurt his ankle playing basketball..last winter. 1972 Courier-Express (DuBois, Pa.) 13 Dec. 16/1 You would, first of all, be very ginger about the editorial stands you take. 2003 K. Leiker & M. Vancil Unscripted iii. 183 I was very ginger with her. I picked her up very lightly, put her down very gently. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2017; most recently modified version published online March 2022). gingerv. Brit. /ˈdʒɪn(d)ʒə/, U.S. /ˈdʒɪndʒər/ Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: ginger n. Etymology: < ginger n. With sense 2 compare slightly earlier gingery adj. 2 and slightly later ginger n. 6; compare also quot. 1822 at gingering n. 1. transitive. To put ginger into (food, drink, etc.); to flavour with ginger. Now rare. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > drink > preparation of drinks > [verb (transitive)] > flavour gum1419 ginger1673 flower1682 1673 M. Stevenson Norfolk Drollery 115 Because he at Bull-feather Fair, Had met a parcel of such Ware, Such Bread, was too much ginger'd. 1753 P. Collinson Let. 13 Feb. in J. Bartram Corr. (1992) 344 Bottle No. 2..being boild & Ginger'd is not agreable to our palates. 1790 B. Rush Inq. into Effects Spirituous Liquors 5 A piece of meat well peppered, and a draught of cyder or water, well gingered, will enable a person to travel in the coldest day or night. 1834 Fraser's Mag. June 695/2 Nor is the beverage injured, When flavoured with a lime; Or if, when slightly gingered, 'Tis swallowed off in time. 1871 J. M. Hay Castilian Days 95 Must Chicago be virtuous before I can object to Madrid ale, and say that its cakes are unduly gingered? 1944 L. P. De Gouy Bread Tray vii. 289 Today we are losing track of the fine practice of ‘gingering’ our food. 2013 E. J. Swift Osiris xviii. 195 Vikram poured and gingered his own tea. 2. transitive. To introduce an irritant such as ginger into a horse's anus to make it move in a lively manner, with the tail held high, and thus appear youthful and spirited. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping or management of horses > [verb (transitive)] > tamper with bishop1727 fire1740 feague1785 ginger1824 spice1841 shot1890 1824 Spirit of Public Jrnls. 1823 246 A horse has sore legs, Goes on three or four legs, Whether he's ginger'd, Spavin'd, gall'd, or injur'd. 1877 Daily News 13 Dec. 2/5 Captain Scot..did not instruct the defendant to ginger his horses. 1909 A. S. Alexander Horse Secrets 21 (heading) Gingering a Show Horse. 1963 L. Taylor Ride Amer. x. 96 Before the purchase of a horse with a set tail, the buyer should ask to see the horse gingered to determine if he carries his tail to one side. 2009 J. Shiers Grooming Horses xix. 209/1 Any person who is involved in gingering a horse can be subjected to suspensions and fines. 3. transitive. figurative. To spice up; to enliven, to stimulate; to put mettle or spirit into; to rouse, to coax (into something or to do something). Frequently with up. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > sleeping and waking > refreshment or invigoration > refresh or invigorate [verb (transitive)] akeleOE restOE comfort1303 ease1330 quickc1350 recurea1382 refresha1382 refetec1384 restorec1384 affilea1393 enforcec1400 freshc1405 revigour?a1425 recomfortc1425 recreatec1425 quicken?c1430 revive1442 cheerc1443 refection?c1450 refect1488 unweary1530 freshen1532 corroborate1541 vige?c1550 erect?1555 recollect?1560 repose1562 respite1565 rouse1574 requicken1576 animate1585 enlive1593 revify1598 inanimate1600 insinew1600 to wind up1602 vigorize1603 inspiritc1610 invigour1611 refocillate1611 revigorate1611 renovate1614 spriten1614 repaira1616 activate1624 vigour1636 enliven1644 invigorate1646 rally1650 reinvigorate1652 renerve1652 to freshen up1654 righta1656 re-enlivena1660 recruita1661 enlighten1667 revivify1675 untire1677 reanimate1694 stimulate1759 rebrace1764 refreshen1780 brisken1799 irrigate1823 tonic1825 to fresh up1835 ginger1844 spell1846 recuperate1849 binge1854 tone1859 innerve1880 fiercen1896 to tone up1896 to buck up1909 pep1912 to zip up1927 to perk up1936 to zizz up1944 hep1948 to zing up1948 juice1964 1844 Bentley's Misc. Oct. 410 There's no believing the papers since the Kilrush Petty Session's man swore in open coort in Dublin, the other day, that he gingered his reports for the Cockneys. 1849 B. Disraeli Let. 11 Mar. in Corr. with Sister (1886) 221 Whether they were gingered up by the articles in the ‘Times’ or not I can't say. 1879 Punch 22 Mar. 123 It is quite wonderful how dead the House is! It wants something to ‘ginger’ it. 1915 J. Buchan Thirty-nine Steps (1959) iii. 33 The potato-digging stationmaster had been gingered up into some activity. 1940 Sat. Rev. Lit. (U.S.) 5 Oct. 16/2 He gingers up his narrative with anecdotes. 1972 Engineer 20 July 9/2 Meanwhile, back-benchers..are gingering the Government to put its money into submersibles. 1992 Times Lit. Suppl. 11 Dec. 10/4 It is easier to imagine Patton's troops being gingered by ‘If you want me, you can always find me in the lead tank’. 2009 Economist 23 May 56/2 The attackers have also been gingered up by an old Islamist commander. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2017; most recently modified version published online June 2022). < n.adj.¹eOEadj.²adv.1600v.1673
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gingern.adj.1

Phrases

Compounds

gingeradj.2adv.

gingerv.

gingern.adj.¹

gingeradj.²adv.