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ginger.

The pungent aromatic rhizome of a tropical Asian herb, Zingiber officinale, used as a spice and as a stimulant and acarminative.

6 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈdʒɪndʒə/UK/ˈd͡ʒɪnd͡ʒɚ/US
  1. The pungent aromatic rhizome of a tropical Asian herb, Zingiber officinale, used as a spice and as a stimulant and acarminative.

    countable · uncountable
  2. The plant that produces this rhizome.

    countable · uncountable
  3. Other species belonging to the same family, Zingiberaceae, especially those of the genus Zingiber

    countable · uncountable
  4. A reddish-brown color.

    countable · uncountable
  5. A person with reddish hair; a redhead.

    colloquial · countable · derogatory · often
  6. Vitality, vigour, liveliness (of character).

    colloquial · uncountable
  7. Ginger ale, or can or bottle of such (especially if dry).

    colloquial · countable · uncountable
  8. Any fizzy soft drink, or can or bottle of such; pop; soda.

    Scotland · colloquial · countable · uncountable
Where this word comes from

Inherited from Middle English gingere, alteration of gingivere, from Old English gingifer, gingiber (influenced by Old French gingembre), from Medieval Latin gingiber, zingiber, from Latin zingiberi, from Late Ancient Greek ζιγγίβερις (zingíberis), from Sauraseni Prakrit 𑀲𑀺𑀁𑀕𑀺𑀯𑁂𑀭 (siṃgivera), ultimately from Old Tamil 𑀇𑀜𑁆𑀘𑀺𑀯𑁂𑀭𑁆 (iñcivēr), a compound of 𑀇𑀜𑁆𑀘𑀺 (iñci, “ginger”) and 𑀯𑁂𑀭𑁆 (vēr, “root”) (compare modern Tamil இஞ்சிவேர் (iñcivēr), from இஞ்சி (iñci, “ginger”) + வேர் (vēr, “root”)).

adj/ˈdʒɪndʒə/UK/ˈd͡ʒɪnd͡ʒɚ/US
  1. Of a reddish-brown color.

  2. Having hair or fur of this color.

Where this word comes from

Inherited from Middle English gingere, alteration of gingivere, from Old English gingifer, gingiber (influenced by Old French gingembre), from Medieval Latin gingiber, zingiber, from Latin zingiberi, from Late Ancient Greek ζιγγίβερις (zingíberis), from Sauraseni Prakrit 𑀲𑀺𑀁𑀕𑀺𑀯𑁂𑀭 (siṃgivera), ultimately from Old Tamil 𑀇𑀜𑁆𑀘𑀺𑀯𑁂𑀭𑁆 (iñcivēr), a compound of 𑀇𑀜𑁆𑀘𑀺 (iñci, “ginger”) and 𑀯𑁂𑀭𑁆 (vēr, “root”) (compare modern Tamil இஞ்சிவேர் (iñcivēr), from இஞ்சி (iñci, “ginger”) + வேர் (vēr, “root”)).

verb/ˈdʒɪndʒə/UK/ˈd͡ʒɪnd͡ʒɚ/US
  1. To add ginger to.

    transitive
  2. To enliven, to spice (up).

    idiomatic · transitive
  3. To apply ginger to the anus of a horse to encourage it to carry its tail high and move in a lively fashion.

    transitive
  4. To inspire (someone); to give a little boost to.

    Nigeria · transitive
Where this word comes from

Inherited from Middle English gingere, alteration of gingivere, from Old English gingifer, gingiber (influenced by Old French gingembre), from Medieval Latin gingiber, zingiber, from Latin zingiberi, from Late Ancient Greek ζιγγίβερις (zingíberis), from Sauraseni Prakrit 𑀲𑀺𑀁𑀕𑀺𑀯𑁂𑀭 (siṃgivera), ultimately from Old Tamil 𑀇𑀜𑁆𑀘𑀺𑀯𑁂𑀭𑁆 (iñcivēr), a compound of 𑀇𑀜𑁆𑀘𑀺 (iñci, “ginger”) and 𑀯𑁂𑀭𑁆 (vēr, “root”) (compare modern Tamil இஞ்சிவேர் (iñcivēr), from இஞ்சி (iñci, “ginger”) + வேர் (vēr, “root”)).

adj/ˈdʒɪndʒə/UK/ˈd͡ʒɪnd͡ʒɚ/US
  1. Very careful or cautious; also, delicate, sensitive.

    Canada · UK · US · regional
Where this word comes from

Back-formation from gingerly (adverb).

adv/ˈdʒɪndʒə/UK/ˈd͡ʒɪnd͡ʒɚ/US
  1. In a very careful or cautious manner; also, delicately, sensitively.

Where this word comes from

Back-formation from gingerly (adverb).

verb/ˈdʒɪndʒə/UK/ˈd͡ʒɪnd͡ʒɚ/US
  1. To move gingerly, in a very careful and cautious manner.

Where this word comes from

Back-formation from gingerly (adverb).

noun/ˈdʒɪndʒə/UK/ˈd͡ʒɪnd͡ʒɚ/US
  1. A homosexual.

    Cockney · UK · slang
Where this word comes from

Cockney rhyming slang: ginger beer, queer.

adj/ˈdʒɪndʒə/UK/ˈd͡ʒɪnd͡ʒɚ/US
  1. Homosexual.

    Cockney · UK · not-comparable · slang
Where this word comes from

Cockney rhyming slang: ginger beer, queer.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.