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nutmeg

UK/ˈnʌt.mɛɡ/US/ˈnʌt.mɛɡ/
nounB2+Occasional — familiar, but not everyday · #9,544 of 15,258neutral

Other forms: nutmegs

Nutmeg is a warm brown spice grated from a hard seed. Grate nutmeg, a pinch of nutmeg, whole nutmeg.

The tree gives two spices: the seed is nutmeg and the red lacy coat around it is mace. It tastes far better grated fresh, and in football to nutmeg somebody is to push the ball between their legs. Large amounts are genuinely toxic.

Herusutimbul · CC BY-SA 4.0

Definitions of nutmeg

  1. 1nounnutmegA warm brown spice grated from a hard seed.B2+

    “She grated a little nutmeg over the warm milk before bed.”

nutmeg is a spice.

Where it comes from

Middle English notemuge partly translates Medieval Latin nux muscata, musky nut, for the smell of the seed.

  1. Medieval Latin

    nux muga

  2. Middle English

    notemege

  3. English, today

    nutmeg

From Middle English notemege, notemuge, a partial translation of Medieval Latin nux muga, a variant of Medieval Latin nux muscata (“musky nut”). Compare also Old French nois mugede. For the term used in various ball sports, see Wikipedia.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Food & Drink

Practise this word

nutmeg in the wild

  • The Banda Islands, in Maluku, Indonesia, are the main producer of nutmeg and mace, and the true nutmeg tree is native to the islands.

    Nutmeg

  • The main exports are cocoa bean (cacao), nutmeg, and mace spice.

    St. George's, Grenada

  • The representation of a nutmeg is symbolic of the islands' primary export, and was the one feature from the previous flag that was preserved.

    Flag of Grenada

  • The nutmeg (Hadula trifolii or Anarta trifolii), also known as the clover cutworm, is a moth of the family Noctuidae.

    Nutmeg (moth)

  • A nutmeg, also known by dozens of national and regional variations, is a skill used mainly in association football, but also in field hockey, ice hockey, and basketball.

    Nutmeg (association football)

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.