seasoning (n.)

1510s, "act or time of impregnation" (a sense now obsolete); c. 1600, "act of adding flavor;" 1570s, "something added to food to impart flavor," also figurative; verbal noun from season (v.). Of enslaved persons, "become inured to the conditions of slavery," by 1771.

also from 1510s

Entries linking to seasoning

season (v.)

late 14c., sesounen, "improve the flavor of by adding spices," from season (n.) and from Old French saisonner "to ripen, season" (Modern French assaisoner), from seison, saison "right moment, appropriate time" on the notion of fruit becoming more palatable as it ripens.

Figurative use by 1510s. Of timber, etc., "bring to maturity by prolonged exposure to some condition," by 1540s; hence in extended sense "bring to the best condition or use; of persons "fit to any use by time or habit," c. 1600. In 16c., it also meant "to copulate with." Intransitive sense of "become mature, grow fit for use" is by 1670s.

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adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/. Ngrams are probably unreliable.

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condiment

mid-15c., "a pickling fluid, seasoning, sauce, something used to give relish to food," from Old French condiment (13c.),...from Latin condimentum "spice, seasoning, sauce," from condire "to preserve, pickle, season, put fruit in vinegar, wine,...

brose

Scottish dish of boiling milk, liquid in which meat has been broiled, seasoning, etc., poured over oatmeal or barley meal...

aspic

It also was a French word for "lavender spike" and might refer to lavender as a seasoning element in the jelly....

pudding

a kind of sausage: the stomach or one of the entrails of a pig, sheep, etc., stuffed with minced meat, suet, blood, and seasoning...

pepper

"dried berries of the pepper plant," Middle English peper, from Old English pipor, from an early West Germanic borrowing of Latin piper "pepper," from Greek piperi, probably (via Persian) from Middle Indic pippari, from Sanskrit pippali "long pepper." The Latin word is the source

temper

late Old English temprian "to moderate, bring to a proper or suitable state, to modify some excessive quality, to restrain within due limits," from Latin temperare "observe proper measure, be moderate, restrain oneself," also transitive, "mix correctly, mix in due proportion; reg

cause

c. 1200, "reason or motive for a decision, grounds for action; motive," from Old French cause "cause, reason; lawsuit, case in law" (12c.), and directly from Latin causa "a cause; a reason; interest; judicial process, lawsuit," which is of unknown origin. From mid-14c. as "cause

sauce

mid-14c., "condiment for meat, fish, etc.; pickling liquid, brine," from Old French sauce, sausse, from Latin salsa "things salted, salt food," noun use of fem. singular or neuter plural of adjective salsus "salted," from past participle of Old Latin sallere "to salt," from sal (

saffron

c. 1200, safroun, "product made from the dried stigmas of flowers of the autumn crocus," from Old French safran (12c.), from Medieval Latin safranum (cognate with Italian zafferano, Spanish azafran), ultimately from Arabic az-za'faran, which is of unknown origin. The substance is

turmeric

pungent powder made from the root of an East Indian plant, 1530s, altered from Middle English turmeryte (early 15c.), which is of uncertain origin. "Middle English Compendium" compares Medieval Latin terra merita (16c.), French terre mérite (17c.), literally "worthy earth," thoug

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updated on March 18, 2022

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Dictionary entries near seasoning

seaside

season

seasonable

seasonal

seasoned

seasoning

seat

seater

seating

SEATO

Seattle