Everyday LifeGreek → English
Ginger
/ˈdʒɪndʒər/noun
The hot aromatic rhizome of a tropical plant, used fresh, dried or ground.
The Greek roots
ζιγγίβερις
zingíberis
ginger
Literally: “horn-shaped root”
Follow a root:ζιγγίβερις1 word
The story of the word
Sanskrit śṛṅgavera described the root as horn-bodied, which anyone who has bought one will recognise. Pali smoothed the sounds, Greek made ζιγγίβερις, Latin zingiber, and Old English took gingifer from there. English then received a second dose through Old French gingivre, which is why the modern spelling looks French. Hair called ginger is nineteenth-century slang, borrowed from the colour of the dried spice.
- How it travelled
- Sanskrit → Ancient Greek → Latin → Old English
- First recorded
- Old English
In a sentence
Grate the ginger straight into the pan, skin and all, and fish out the fibres later.