turmeric
turmeric — noun
1. A vivid yellow culinary spice produced by drying and grinding the root of a trop
A vivid yellow culinary spice produced by drying and grinding the root of a tropical Asian plant, valued for the warm colour and subtle earthy flavour it adds to food, particularly curries.
Ananya added half a teaspoon of turmeric to the lentil soup for colour.
uncountable; used as a colouring agent
The recipe calls for ground turmeric mixed with yogurt and cumin seeds.
Rub the chicken pieces with turmeric, garlic, and salt before grilling them.
Turmeric gives a warm yellow colour to rice dishes and creamy soups.
- curry powder
a blend of several spices including turmeric; broader in flavour and not identical
用法筆記
Turmeric is an uncountable noun in this sense. You cannot say 'two turmerics' — use 'two teaspoons of turmeric' or 'a pinch of turmeric'.
常見錯誤
2. A tall tropical plant with large leaves and pale yellow flowers, which belongs t
A tall tropical plant with large leaves and pale yellow flowers, which belongs to the ginger family. Its underground stem is dried and ground to make the spice turmeric.
The turmeric plant grows best in hot and rainy parts of southern India.
growing conditions for turmeric plants
Farmers dig up the turmeric roots by hand when the leaves turn yellow.
We saw fields of turmeric plants with large green leaves near the village.
The turmeric plant's underground stem is dried and ground into a bright yellow powder.
- Curcuma longa
the scientific name for the turmeric plant, used in botanical or medical contexts
用法筆記
When talking about the live plant, turmeric is a countable noun ('a turmeric plant', 'turmeric plants'). This is different from sense 1, where turmeric is uncountable.