I. ˈjinjə(r) noun
( -s )
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English ginger, gingere, alteration of gingivere, alteration (influenced by Old French gingembre, gingibre ginger, from Medieval Latin gingiber ) of Old English gingifer, modification of Medieval Latin gingiber, alteration of Latin zingiber, from Greek zingiberi, probably modification of Sanskrit śṛngavera
1. : a thickened irregular rhizome that is extremely pungent and aromatic, is widely used as a spice and sometimes in medicine as a carminative, stimulant, or counterirritant, and is usually prepared by drying and grinding to a fine brownish powder — see black ginger , canton ginger , jamaica ginger , limed ginger , white ginger
2. : a tropical perennial herb ( Zingiber officinale ) that is prob. native to the Pacific islands but is widely cultivated for its rhizome which constitutes most of the ginger of commerce ; broadly : any plant of the genus Zingiber
3. : any of various plants of which some part (as root or juice) has a pungency or flavor suggestive of ginger (as various tansies and sedums or the wild gingers)
4. : high spirit : mettle , pep , vigor
written … with the wit, bounce, and ginger that characterize the dances she has composed — New Yorker
you've got an awful lot of ginger to you — Joseph Hergesheimer
the only capital he had was the ginger to care hard and work hard — Willa Cather
5. : a strong brown that is stronger and slightly yellower and darker than average russet, deeper and slightly yellower than rust, and very slightly darker than gypsy — called also Kaiser brown
II. transitive verb
( gingered ; gingered ; gingering -nj(ə)riŋ ; gingers )
1. : to make lively or animated : stir to activity : pep up : revive
loyalty at home … is always gingered by state executions — Francis Hackett
— often used with up
ginger up the tourist trade — New York Times
gingering up the flow of revenue — Leslie Charteris
2. : fig IV 2
III. adjective
: having the color of ginger
with a youthful figure and ginger hair — A.J.Liebling
IV. adjective
Etymology: back-formation from gingerly
chiefly dialect : gingerly
V. adverb
chiefly dialect : gingerly
got up, handling myself kind of ginger — Helen Eustis