Gingerroots

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The underground stems of a plant known for their spicy, aromatic flavor and medicinal properties used in cooking and traditional remedies
2. The knobby, pungent rhizomes that serve both as a spice enhancing culinary dishes and as a natural health supplement
3. The edible, fibrous subterranean parts of a plant used to impart a warm, zesty taste and beneficial effects in various cuisines and therapies

Etymology: "Gingerroots" is simply the plural of "gingerroot," so the word tells you nothing new beyond what the singular carries. Its ingredients are the familiar pair: "ginger," the spice, and "root," the underground part of a plant. The spice itself traces back through Old French "gingembre" and Latin "zingiber" to a Greek form of the same name, borrowed from a Sanskrit-linked source in the Indian subcontinent, where the plant was cultivated long before it reached European kitchens. The compound is what a plain description would produce: the spiced rhizome of the ginger plant, the stem that grows horizontally beneath the soil and sends up shoots. Cooks and grocers usually call the knobbly stems simply "ginger," so "gingerroot" is the more precise term, used to separate the rhizome from the spice powder or the plant's other parts.

Synonyms: ginger