Definition of Turmeric

1. Noun. Widely cultivated tropical plant of India having yellow flowers and a large aromatic deep yellow rhizome; source of a condiment and a yellow dye.

Exact synonyms: Curcuma Domestica, Curcuma Longa
Generic synonyms: Herb, Herbaceous Plant
Group relationships: Curcuma, Genus Curcuma

2. Noun. Ground dried rhizome of the turmeric plant used as seasoning.

Definition of Turmeric

1. n. An East Indian plant of the genus Curcuma, of the Ginger family.

2. a. Of or pertaining to turmeric; resembling, or obtained from, turmeric; specif., designating an acid obtained by the oxidation of turmerol.

Definition of Turmeric

1. Noun. An Indian plant (taxonomic name: ''Curcuma longa'') with aromatic rhizome, part of the ginger family (Zingiberaceae). ¹

2. Noun. The pulverized rhizome of the turmeric plant, used for stimulation, flavoring and to add a bright yellow color to food. ¹

3. Noun. A yellow to reddish-brown dye extracted from the turmeric plant. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Turmeric

1. an East Indian herb [n -S]

Medical Definition of Turmeric

1. 1. An East Indian plant of the genus Curcuma, of the Ginger family. 2. The root or rootstock of the Curcuma longa. It is externally grayish, but internally of a deep, lively yellow or saffron colour, and has a slight aromatic smell, and a bitterish, slightly acrid taste. It is used for a dye, a medicine, a condiment, and a chemical test. Origin: F. Terre-merite, NL. Terramerita, turmerica; apparently meaning, excellent earth, but perhaps a corruption of Ar. Kurkum. Cf. Curcuma. Of or pertaining to turmeric; resembling, or obtained from, turmeric; specif, designating an acid obtained by the oxidation of turmerol. Turmeric paper, paper impregnated with turmeric and used as a test for alkaline substances, by which it is changed from yellow to brown. Turmeric root. Bloodroot. Orangeroot. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Turmeric

turkieses
turkis
turkises
turkle
turkles
turkling
turkois
turkoises
turkoman
turks
turlough
turloughs
turm
turmaline
turme
turmeric (current term)
turmeric root
turmerics
turmerol
turmes
turmit
turmits
turmoil
turmoiled
turmoiling
turmoils
turms
turn
turn'd
turn-about

Literary usage of Turmeric

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Experimental Researches in Chemistry and Physics by Michael Faraday (1859)
"Boracic Acid, action on turmeric*. IT may be observed, in connexion with the changes of colour produced by acids, that boracic acid reddens turmeric paper ..."

2. The Americana: A Universal Reference Library, Comprising the Arts and ...by Frederick Converse Beach, George Edwin Rines by Frederick Converse Beach, George Edwin Rines (1912)
"turmeric, ground into a powder, has been valued for centuries in Asia, ... _ White paper soaked with a tincture of turmeric changes to a reddish- brown ..."

3. Commercial Organic Analysis: A Treatise on the Properties, Proximate by Alfred Henry Allen, Henry Leffmann (1900)
"turmeric is also employed in paper-staining, and for dyeing wood and leather ... Powdered turmeric is sometimes adulterated with starch and mineral matters. ..."

4. Food Inspection and Analysis: For the Use of Public Analysts, Health by Albert Ernest Leach, Andrew Lincoln Winton (1913)
"Besides exhausted ginger, the most common adulterants found in powdered ginger are turmeric, wheat, corn, rice, and sawdust. Sawdust of soft wood is a not ..."

5. The Microscopy of Technical Products by Thomas Franz Hanausek (1907)
"turmeric, or curcuma, is much employed in the arts, chiefly for coloring wood, ... Chinese turmeric is the best grade. Commercial turmeric consists in large ..."

6. Pharmaceutical Journal by Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (1850)
"Five varieties of turmeric are known in the English market, namely China, Bengal, ... China turmeric Madras turmeric Bengal turmeric. Java turmeric Malabar ..."

7. Manual of Qualitative Chemical Analysis by C. Remigius Fresenius, Samuel William Johnson (1874)
"Digest and heat 1 part of bruised turmeric root with six parts of weak spirit of ... turmeric paper serves, like reddened litmus paper and dahlia paper, ..."

8. The American Cyclopaedia: A Popular Dictionary of General Knowledge edited by George Ripley, Charles Anderson Dana (1883)
"Long turmeric is about the size of the little finger, 2 or 3 in. long, curved, ... turmeric was formerly employed in medicine as an aromatic tonic, ..."

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