I. vəˈnilə, -nelə noun
( -s )
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: in sense 1a, from New Latin, from Spanish vainilla vanilla; in other senses from Spanish vainilla pod, vanilla, diminutive of vaina sheath, from Latin vagina — more at vagina
1.
a. capitalized : a genus of tropical American climbing orchids (family Orchidaceae) having fleshy distichous leaves, numerous aerial roots, and flowers in axillary racemes with a spreading perianth and the labellum united to the column
b. -s : any plant of this genus
2. -s
a. : a capsule that is the fruit of a vanilla ( Vanilla planifolia ) widely distributed from Florida southward throughout tropical America, that has the form of an elongated pod, and that is an important article of commerce for the flavoring extract that it yields ; broadly : any of several capsules that are the fruits of other vanillas — compare vanillon
b. : a flavoring extract made by soaking comminuted vanilla pods in a mixture of water and grain alcohol
II. vəˈnilə, -nelə adjective
Etymology: vanilla , noun; from the fact that vanilla ice cream is considered the plainest flavor
: lacking distinction : ordinary : plain : conventional
nothing fancy about this design. It's just plain vanilla — Newsweek
a plain old vanilla terminal — Steven Levy