Culinary

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ˈkʌlɪn(ə)ɹi/

Definitions

1. Relating to cooking or the kitchen, or involving the preparation and serving of food
2. Pertaining to the art and techniques of cooking, this term encompasses all aspects of food preparation, presentation, and the culture surrounding eating
3. This adjective describes everything connected to the practices of preparing, cooking, and presenting dishes, inclusive of food science and gastronomy

Etymology: The Latin "culīna" meant "kitchen," and it sits at the root of this adjective's family tree, which runs from Rome through France into English. Latin speakers used "culīnārius" for things belonging to the kitchen, and the French adaptation "culinaire" carried the same kitchen-focused sense before English borrowed it. The Latin word's own origin is less settled, so it is best to start from the kitchen itself as the anchor of the meaning. What makes the path interesting is how far the sense has travelled. A word built around a room where food was cooked now covers the whole discipline of food, from the technique of a single sauce to the chemistry behind why bread rises. The adjective took the kitchen as its starting point and grew into a term for the art and science of the table.

Synonyms: cooking, gastronomic, epicurean, gourmet, kitchen