Nutmegs

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The rounded seed of the nutmeg tree, used as a spice with a warm, sweet flavor
2. A slang term describing a deceptive maneuver in sports where one player passes the ball through another's legs
3. The ingredient often found in baked goods and holiday dishes, providing aromatic seasoning and enhancing taste

Etymology: The plural "nutmegs" is simply the countable form of "nutmeg," the aromatic seed of a tropical evergreen tree. The noun's first half is ordinary enough: "nut," meaning the hard-shelled seed. The second half is the surprise. Medieval Latin speakers called the spice "nux muscata," or "musky nut," because of its strong, musk-like scent. Over time the English borrowing was shaped by a partial translation of that phrase, giving Middle English "notemege" and "notemuge," in which the second element is the echo of "musk" rather than an original English word. The name also reached English along a second route. Old French had its own form, "nois mugede," which shows that the same musky-nut label travelled through several European languages at once. The English spelling settled gradually, and the modern "nutmeg" retains the sound of that older compound while hiding its scent-based meaning.

Synonyms: spices, seasonings