Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • transitive verb To enhance in appearance by adding decorative touches; embellish.
  • transitive verb To decorate (prepared food or drink) with small colorful or savory items.
  • transitive verb To seize (property such as wages) by garnishment.
  • transitive verb To serve (someone) with papers announcing the garnishment of that person's property in order to satisfy a debt.
  • noun An ornamentation or embellishment, especially one added to a prepared food or drink for decoration or added flavor.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • 1. To fortify; defend.
  • To adorn; decorate with ornaments or appendages; set off.
  • To fit with fetters.
  • To furnish; supply; garrison.
  • In cookery, to ornament, as a dish, with something laid round it.
  • In law, to warn; give notice.
  • noun Ornament; something added for embellishment; decoration; dress; array.
  • noun In cookery, something placed round or added to a principal dish at table, either for embellishment merely or for use as a relish.
  • noun A set of dishes, plates, and the like, for table use.
  • noun Fetters.
  • noun 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.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

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

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

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

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb decorate (food), as with parsley or other ornamental foods
  • noun any decoration added as a trimming or adornment
  • verb take a debtor's wages on legal orders, such as for child support
  • noun something (such as parsley) added to a dish for flavor or decoration

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English garnishen, from Old French garnir, garniss-, of Germanic origin; see wer- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

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.

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Examples

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  • Contronymic in the sense: add-on vs. take away (as wages).

    January 27, 2007