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Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. v. To enhance in appearance by adding decorative touches; embellish: a coat that was garnished with a fur collar.
  2. v. To decorate (prepared food or drink) with small colorful or savory items: garnished the potatoes with parsley.
  3. v. Law To garnishee.
  4. n. Ornamentation; embellishment.
  5. n. An embellishment added to a prepared food or drink for decoration or added flavor.
  6. n. Slang An unwarranted fee, such as one extorted from a new prisoner by a jailer.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  1. 1. To fortify; defend.
  2. To adorn; decorate with ornaments or appendages; set off.
  3. To fit with fetters.
  4. To furnish; supply; garrison.
  5. In cookery, to ornament, as a dish, with something laid round it.
  6. In law, to warn; give notice. Specifically— To summon in, so as to take part in litigation already pending between others.
  7. n. Ornament; something added for embellishment; decoration; dress; array.
  8. n. In cookery, something placed round or added to a principal dish at table, either for embellishment merely or for use as a relish.
  9. n. A set of dishes, plates, and the like, for table use.
  10. n. Fetters.
  11. n. A fee, as to a servant; specifically, money formerly paid by a prisoner on his going to prison as a fee to fellow-prisoners: now illegal.

Wiktionary

  1. v. To decorate with ornamental appendages; to set off; to adorn; to embellish; as, all within with flowers was garnished.
  2. v. cooking To ornament, as a dish, with something laid about it; as, a dish garnished with parsley.
  3. v. To furnish; to supply.
  4. v. To fit with fetters.
  5. v. law To warn by garnishment; to give notice to; to garnishee.
  6. n. a set of dishes, often pewter, containing a dozen pieces of several types.
  7. n. pewter vessels in general.

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. v. To decorate with ornamental appendages; to set off; to adorn; to embellish.
  2. v. (Cookery) To ornament, as a dish, with something laid about it.
  3. v. To furnish; to supply.
  4. v. Cant To fit with fetters.
  5. v. (Law) To warn by garnishment; to give notice to; to garnishee. See Garnishee, v. t.
  6. n. Something added for embellishment; decoration; ornament; also, dress; garments, especially such as are showy or decorated.
  7. n. (Cookery) Something set round or upon a dish as an embellishment, such as parsley. See Garnish, v. t., 2.
  8. n. Cant Fetters.
  9. n. Cant A fee; specifically, in English jails, formerly an unauthorized fee demanded by the old prisoners of a newcomer.

WordNet 3.0

  1. v. decorate (food), as with parsley or other ornamental foods
  2. n. any decoration added as a trimming or adornment
  3. v. take a debtor's wages on legal orders, such as for child support
  4. n. something (such as parsley) added to a dish for flavor or decoration

Etymologies

  1. From Middle English garnischen, from Old French garniss-, stem of certain forms of the verb garnir, guarnir, warnir ("to provide, furnish, avert, defend, warn, fortify, garnish"), from a conflation of Old Frankish *warnjan (“to refuse, deny”) and *warnōn (“warn, protect, prepare, beware, guard oneself”), from Proto-Germanic *warnijanan (“to worry, care, heed”) and Proto-Germanic *warnōnan (“to warn”); both from Proto-Indo-European *wer- (“to defend, protect, cover”). Cognate with Old English wiernan ("to withhold, be sparing of, deny, refuse, reject, decline, forbid, prevent from, avert") and warnian ("to warn, caution, take warning, take heed, guard oneself against, deny"). More at warn. (Wiktionary)
  2. Middle English garnishen, from Old French garnir, garniss-, of Germanic origin; see wer-4 in Indo-European roots. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)

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  • oroboros Contronymic in the sense: add-on vs. take away (as wages). Jan 27, 2007

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‘garnish’ has been looked up 2359 times, loved by 2 people, added to 24 lists, commented on 1 time, and has a Scrabble score of 11.