Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. An Indian plant (Curcuma zedoaria) having yellow flowers, purple bracts, and starchy tuberous rhizomes.
- n. The dried rhizomes of this plant, used as a condiment and in perfumes, medicines, and cosmetics.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. An East Indian drug, known in two varieties as long and round zedoary. According to some authorities these are both the product of Curcuma Zedoaria (the C. Zerumbet of Roxburgh); according to others, only the long zedoary belongs to this species, the round to C. aromatica (the C. Zedoaria of Roxburgh). Both varieties are aromatic, with a strong camphoraceous flavor and the odor of ginger. In medicine, zedoary acts like ginger, but is less effective. It is used in India in various alterative decoctions and in preparing kinds of incense. The rhizome of C. aromatica, like the related turmeric, is used in dyeing—its chief application.
Wiktionary
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. (Med.) A medicinal substance obtained in the East Indies, having a fragrant smell, and a warm, bitter, aromatic taste. It is used in medicine as a stimulant.
Etymologies
- Middle English zeduarie, from Medieval Latin zeduāria, from Arabic zadwār, from Persian. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“They used many spices, some of which we no longer use (zedoary, long pepper), others of which today are associated with ethnic cuisine (such as galangal, an important ingredient of Thai cooking).”
“It was made of a mixture of roots of zedoary similar to ginger, lovage and peony, parsnip seeds, mistletoe, myrrh, castor oil and dried millipedes steeped in mugwort tea and brandy.”
“The other contains prepared herbs which are useful as preventives -- tormentil, valerian, zedoary, angelica, and so forth; but I take it that pure vinegar is as good an antidote to infection as anything one can find.”
“And all carried rue and wormwood in their hands, and myrrh and zedoary in their mouths, as protection against infection.”
“Pharmacopoeia gave a simpler receipt, in which the ingredients were zedoary and saffron, distilled with crabs 'claws, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, cardamom seeds, and sugar.”
“-- This plant furnishes zedoary tubers, much used in India as aromatic tonics.”
Catalogue of Economic Plants in the Collection of the U. S. Department of Agriculture
“Let the Panchæan land [42] be rich in amomum, and let it produce cinnamon, and its zedoary, [43] and frankincense distilling from its tree, and its other flowers, so long as it produces the myrrh-tree, as well.”
“As to Blaize, when they got into Cheapside, he was so terrified by the dismal evidences of the pestilence that met him at every turn, that he could scarcely keep his seat, and it was not until he had drenched himself and his companion with vinegar, and stuffed his mouth with myrrh and zedoary, that he felt anything like composure.”
“There's wormwood, woodsorrel, masterwort, zedoary, and angelica; and lastly, there is a little bottle of the sovereign preservative against the plague, as prepared by the great Lord”
“Virginian snake-root, or zedoary, if he approached any place supposed to be infected.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘zedoary’.
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phrontistery-z
from phrontistery.info
zyzzyva, zythum, zymurgy, zymotic, zymotechnics, zymosis, zymosimeter, zymometer, zymology, zymogenic, zymite, zymic and 208 more...
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Herbs: How Fragrant, How Delicious
Delicious scents in an edible nibble.
zedoary, zahtar, yarrow, wormwood, wasabi, verbena, valerian, thyme, Thai basil, tarragon, sweet basil, sorrel and 59 more...
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Flora
fenugreek, verbena, saxifrage, arbutus, calendula, nasturtium, lobelia, hellebore, rhododendron, philodendron, bellflower, heuchera and 449 more...
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wreckingball's Words
reprehensible, problematize, crepuscular, deleterious, pestilent, strumpet, draggletail, interrobang, meretricious, systematize, schadenfreude, capricious and 443 more...
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...:::bella:::...
originally started as an attempt to collect words I found visually and auditorially beautiful, as well as psychically evocative, this has become nothing more than a grab bag of word curiosities, a ...
bergamot, jambalaya, bee's knees, heliotrope, hosanna, gamboge, aureole, filial, madrigal, multilingual, sacrosanct, sojourn and 1072 more...
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Writing Exercise 1
Ex 4 & 12 from Creative Writing Coursebook p6 & p26
inveracity, cribble, flux, dag, parergon, fractal, cat, gowan, durmast, zedoary, monophobia, sockdologer and 22 more...
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gentian and bitters
bottled and uncorked
quassia, gentianine, gentiopikrin, ophelic, closed gentian, fringed gentian, felwort, bottle gentian, pink gin, calathian violet, deer's-ears, feverroot and 87 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for zedoary.
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