Garnish

Part of speech: verb, noun

Pronunciation: /ˈɡɑɹnɪʃ/

Definitions

1. To decorate or embellish food by adding items for visual appeal ; to legally withhold part of a person's wages to pay a debt after a court order
2. To enhance the appearance of a dish by adding decorative food items ; to collect money from earnings by court-authorized deduction to satisfy financial obligations
3. To improve a meal's presentation with extra edible adornments ; to enforce debt repayment by deducting a portion of wages under the law

Etymology: The most surprising thing about "garnish" is that it began life as a word about defence and warning. Its ancestor in Old French, "garnir", meant to provide, furnish, fortify or defend, and it grew from a Germanic root meaning to protect or take heed, the same root that gave English "warn". Old English had a close cousin, "wiernan", which meant to refuse, forbid or ward off. The word reached English in the Middle Ages as "garnysshen", and its early senses were practical: to equip, supply or fit out something, such as a house or a fortress. Serving sense only came later, as cooks dressed a dish to make it complete and attractive. Decorating food with trimmings is therefore a fairly late narrowing of a word that once meant providing what was needed for protection.

Synonyms: decorate, embellish, adorn, enhance, trim

Antonyms: disfigure, strip, remove, diminish