turmeric Meaning, Definition & Usage

noun widely cultivated tropical plant of India having yellow flowers and a large aromatic deep yellow rhizome; source of a condiment and a yellow dye
Curcuma domestica; Curcuma longa.
noun ground dried rhizome of the turmeric plant used as seasoning

F. terre-mérite, NL. terramerita, turmerica; apparently meaning, excellent earth, but perhaps a corruption of Ar. kurkum. Cf. Curcuma.

(Bot.) An East Indian plant of the genus Curcuma, of the Ginger family.
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.

(Chem.) Of or pertaining to turmeric; resembling, or obtained from, turmeric; specif., designating an acid obtained by the oxidation of turmerol.