Turmeric
Turmeric , noun
[French terre-mérite, New Latin terramerita, turmerica; apparently meaning, excellent earth, but perhaps a corruption of Arabic kurkum. Compare Curcuma.]
1.
(Botany) 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 color, 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.
Turmeric , adjective
(Chemistry) Of or pertaining to turmeric; resembling, or obtained from, turmeric; specif., designating an acid obtained by the oxidation of turmerol.
Collocations (2)
Turmeric paper (Chemistry) , paper impregnated with turmeric and used as a test for alkaline substances, by which it is changed from yellow to brown.
Turmeric root (Botany) , (a) Bloodroot. (b) Orangeroot.