vanilla

Definitions  ·  Examples  ·  Pronunciations  ·  Etymologies  ·  Related  ·  Statistics  ·  Comments (8)  · 
“
I think I have found vanilla; or it is something that smells like it, but I did not know that the vanilla was a climber You have found the wild vanilla, the flowers of which have, as you see, disappeared and the bean is the product I have often wondered why it is that we are able to smell or to recognize different odors Smell, like everything else in nature, is produced by vibrations.

View all »
Definitions (17)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (5)

  1. noun Any of various tropical American vines of the genus Vanilla in the orchid family, especially V. planifolia, cultivated for its long narrow seedpods from which a flavoring agent is obtained.
  2. noun The seedpod of this plant. Also called vanilla bean.
  3. noun A flavoring extract prepared from the cured seedpods of this plant or produced synthetically.
2 more from this dictionary »

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (5)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (2)

Toggle WordNet definitions WordNet (5)

Toggle elsewhere links Elsewhere on the web

View all »
Examples (50)

  • She rolled the taste of it on her tongue -- vanilla was such a round perfect flavor. —  F ;SF - vol 086 issue 01 - January 1994
  • Stir in French vanilla café mix and French vanilla syrup.
  • Agriculture (40\% of GDP): Products -- vanilla, cloves, perfume essences, copra, banana, cassava, coconuts.
  • Put the currants in a bowl with the brandy and vanilla, and leave to soak for 10 minutes. —  The Guardian World News
  • A yearning to raise their children on a farm in Hawaii inspired Jim Reddekopp, 41, and his wife, Tracy, 36, to chose the ultimate niche crop-vanilla orchids-which only grow within 25 degrees of the equator. —  American Profile
More examples »
 

Tags

Sign up or sign in to add tags.

Stats

This word has been looked up 96 times.

stop updating
On Twitter

Photos from

flickr images

Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Obsolete Spanish vainilla, diminutive of vaina, sheath (from the shape of its seedpods), from Latin vāgīna.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. = French vanille, from New Latin vanilla, from Spanish rainilla, formerly vaynilla, the pod or bean of the vanilla-plant, hence also the plant itself (also applied to heliotrope), literally ‘little pod,’ diminutive of vaina, scabbard, sheath, pod, from Latin vagina, sheath: see vagina.
 

Pronunciations
Record your own »
/vəˈnɪlə/
by American Heritage

Charts
frequency chart

Bubble size: how much this word was used in a year

Bubble height: used more or less than expected, vs. all uses evenly distributed

You can expect to see this word about twice a week.

Recently looked up

completed · commemorate · kerchief · mycoplasma · spook

Recent Favorites

pygopagus · sanglant · Astacus · sweetbread · qualms

Recent Pronunciations

ultimatum · pew · deadpool · sad panda · nom nom nom