ginger
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈdʒɪndʒə/
ipa: /ˈd͡ʒɪnd͡ʒɚ/
rhymes: -ɪndʒə(ɹ)
other: /ˈɡɪŋə/
Forms: form: more ginger
form: gingerer
form: most ginger
form: gingerest
Etymology: Etymology tree
Old Tamil 𑀇𑀜𑁆𑀘𑀺 (iñci)
Proto-Dravidian *wēr
Old Tamil 𑀯𑁂𑀭𑁆 (vēr)
Old Tamil 𑀇𑀜𑁆𑀘𑀺𑀯𑁂𑀭𑁆 (iñcivēr)bor.
Sauraseni Prakrit 𑀲𑀺𑀁𑀕𑀺𑀯𑁂𑀭 (siṃgivera)der.
Ancient Greek ζιγγίβερις (zingíberis)bor.
Late Latin zingiberi
Late Latin gingiberbor.
Proto-West Germanic *gingiberō
Old English gingifer
Late Latin gingiber
Old French gingembreinflu.
Middle English gingivere
Middle English gingere
English ginger
Inherited from 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 (zingíberis), from Sauraseni Prakrit 𑀲𑀺𑀁𑀕𑀺𑀯𑁂𑀭 (siṃgivera), ultimately from Old Tamil 𑀇𑀜𑁆𑀘𑀺𑀯𑁂𑀭𑁆 (iñcivēr), a compound of 𑀇𑀜𑁆𑀘𑀺 (iñci, “ginger”) and 𑀯𑁂𑀭𑁆 (vēr, “root”) (compare modern Tamil இஞ்சிவேர் (iñcivēr), from இஞ்சி (iñci, “ginger”) + வேர் (vēr, “root”)).
Senses: examples: text: My eyes track upwards past the shoes to a pair of skinny legs, skinnier than mine, then to a tight black mini. Above that is a crisp white shirt. And crowning the whole thing is a mop of the gingerest hair I’ve ever seen in my life.
ref: 2003, Chrissie Glazebrook, “The Cadogan Hotel”, in Blue Spark Sisters, London: William Heinemann, →ISBN, page 22:
text: And her hair’s brilliant red. It’s even gingerer than ours.
ref: 2005, Vera M. Black, chapter 8, in Trembling on the Brink, Ilfracombe, Devon: Arthur H. Stockwell Ltd., →ISBN, page 153:
text: But as well as being a tough rugby player, Jammer [i.e., James Graham] also has the gingerest hair and palest skin in rugby (and possibly the world).
ref: 2009, Sean Long with Nick Appleyard, “Sozzled in Spain”, in Longy: Booze, Brawls, Sex and Scandal – The Autobiography of the Wild Man of Rugby League, London: John Blake, →ISBN, page 131:
glosses: Of a reddish-brown color.
raw_tags: of hair or fur
examples: text: a ginger tomcat
text: A chorus of ‘Aaah’s rose as they would in an episode of The Royle Family, while the gingerest boy in school swung his legs on the worktop and pretended he was Jamaican to be more like his mate sitting next to him, who wasn’t Jamaican either, but had parents who were.
ref: 2007, Lynsey Hanley, “The Wall in the Head”, in Estates: An Intimate History, London: Granta Books, →ISBN, page 151:
text: But now evolution has stepped in, the reds are starting to mutate into bright ginger versions of themselves – and they’re here to stay. Leading squirrel expert Tony Handeigh, 48, is excited about the new breed of squirrel and thinks we could see woodland warfare in the future. He says: “I’ve seen one close up and it’s more ginger than Mick Hucknall’s pubes. But when it’s angry it gets even more gingerer.”
ref: 2009 April 26, “Ginger squirrels pose new threat”, in Sunday Sport, Manchester: Sport Newspapers Limited, page 3:
text: He had everything. The Catweazle beard, the headband, the long flowing locks and he’s got to be the gingerest footballer ever (sorry Scholesy).
ref: 2010, James Chambers, “Alexi Lalas: The Genre Buster, General Custer”, in Footballers’ Haircuts: A New History, London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, →ISBN, page 59:
text: His frizzy ginger hair is all slicked down straight, his sideburns are trimmed, and he’s wearing a suit. […] That is the rudest thing that anyone has ever said to me! Coming from my own father means that it’s twenty billion times worse. ‘Well, you’re . . . you’re . . . you’re the gingerest person in the world!’ I don’t know if that hurt or not.
ref: 2011, Lil Chase, Boys for Beginners, London: Quercus, →ISBN, pages 14 (chapter 3) and 192–193 (chapter 22):
text: The walls of Jupiter’s study were lined with bookshelves and framed photographs, mostly of strange landscapes and people. Jupiter himself only popped up in a few of them – younger, gingerer, skinnier, less beardy.
ref: 2017 October 10, Jessica Townsend, “Happy Hour at the Hotel Deucalion”, in Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow, Sydney, N.S.W.: Lothian, Hachette Australia, →ISBN, page 100:
glosses: Having hair or fur of this color.
Derived terms: ginger-haired
Ginger Line
gingervitis