ˈdʒɪndʒə n.,
adj., & v. --n. 1 a a
hot spicy root usu. powdered
for use in
cooking, or preserved in
syrup, or candied. b
the plant, Zingiber officinale, of SE Asia, having
this root. 2 a
light reddish-yellow
colour. 3
spirit,
mettle. 4 stimulation. --adj. of a ginger colour. --v.tr. 1
flavour with ginger. 2 (foll. by up)
rouse or
enliven. øblack ginger unscraped ginger. ginger
ale an effervescent
non-alcoholic clear drink flavoured with ginger
extract. ginger
beer an effervescent
mildly alcoholic cloudy drink,
made by fermenting a
mixture of ginger
and syrup. ginger
group Brit. a group
within a party or
movement that presses for stronger or
more radical policy or
action. ginger-nut a ginger-flavoured
biscuit. ginger-pop colloq. = ginger ale. ginger-snap a
thin brittle biscuit flavoured with ginger. ginger
wine a drink of fermented
sugar,
water, and bruised ginger. øøgingery adj. [ME f. OE gingiber & OF gingi(m)bre,
both f. med.L gingiber ult. f. Skr. srngaveram f. srngam
horn + -vera
body, with
ref. to the antler-shape of the root]