Ginger is the knobby spicy root used in tea and Asian cooking. Fresh ginger, ginger tea, a piece of ginger.
It is a rhizome rather than a root, which is a stem growing sideways underground. It has good evidence behind it for nausea, which is unusual for a folk remedy. Ginger also names red hair in British use. Note that the word travelled from Sanskrit through Greek and Latin into English.
1noungingerA knobby spicy root used in cooking.
“Grate a little fresh ginger into the stir-fry for extra heat.”
ginger is a spice.
Latin zingiberi comes through Greek from a Sanskrit name for the plant. The word travelled with the spice.
Middle English
gingere
English, today
ginger
Built from
From Middle English gingere. 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, from pra-sau 𑀲𑀺𑀁𑀕𑀺𑀯𑁂𑀭, ultimately from oty 𑀇𑀜𑁆𑀘𑀺𑀯𑁂𑀭𑁆, a compound of 𑀇𑀜𑁆𑀘𑀺 (“ginger”) and 𑀯𑁂𑀭𑁆 (“root”) (compare modern Tamil இஞ்சிவேர், from இஞ்சி (“ginger”) + வேர் (“root”)).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA