turmeric, n. (a.)
(ˈtɜːmərɪk)
Forms: 6 tarmaret, tormarith, -marthe, tormerik, -yke, turmirick, 6–7 turmericke (7 turn-merick, turmerocke, -ack, termarcke, tarmanick, tarmaluk), 7–9 turmerick, 8– turmeric.
[Origin obscure. The English forms vary greatly, but tarmaret, tormarith resemble a recorded F. terre mérite and med. or mod.L. terra merita ‘deserving or deserved earth’, a name which the powder is said by Littré to have borne in commerce. The reason and origin of this L. and F. appellation are obscure; but in English the final t appears (by scribal error, or phonetic differentiation, or influence of such words as arsenic) to have become c or k, with the second r sometimes changed to l or n. Some have suggested a corruption of the Persian-Arabic name kurkum ‘saffron’, whence L., F., and Sp. curcuma; but the change seems too unlikely. The application of the name in Eng. to Tormentil arose apparently from some real or fancied similarity of properties or uses.
(Littré has s.v. Curcuma ‘safran des Indes et curcuma, dite terre-mérite, quand elle est réduite en poudre’. Hatz.-Darm. have also, s.v. Curcuma, Du Pinet, 16th c. in Delbœuf Recueil ‘La curcuma ou terra merita des apothicaires’.)]
1. The aromatic and pungent root-stock of an East Indian plant (see 2), or the powder made of this, the chief ingredient in curry powder, used also in dyeing yellow, and as a chemical test, and in the East as a condiment and medicinally; also called curcuma (curcuma b).
| 1545 Rates of Custome c vj b, Tarmaret the C. pounde xl s. 1577 Richmond Wills (Surtees) 269 Spicknell, turmirick, and galingall ijs. 1586 Rates of Custome F j, Tormarith the c, contayning v. xx. xii. pound, iij. l. vj. s. viij. d. 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts (1658) 300 Take..of Ale a quart, and put thereunto of Saffron, Turmerick, of each half an ounce [for the Yellows (Jaundice) in the horse]. 1614 Markham Cheap Husb. i. (1668) Table, Turn-merick is a yellow Simple, of strong savour, to be bought at the Apothecaries. 1621 Shuttleworths' Acc. (Chetham Soc.) 248 Longe peper graines and turmerocke. 1685 Minute Bk. New Mills Cloth Manuf. (S.H.S.) 97 Dye stuffs..tarmanick, logwood, woad. 1694 in Dunbar Soc. Life Moray (1865) 148 Ane kinkine tarmaluk, for dying. 1791 Hamilton Berthollet's Dyeing II. ii. iii. iv. 185 Neither fustic nor turmeric gives a permanent colour. 1805 W. Saunders Min. Waters iv. 117 The yellow of turmeric is not altered, shewing therefore the absence of an alkali. 1812 J. Smyth Pract. of Customs (1821) 264 Turmerick..with alum, communicates a beautiful but perishable yellow dye to woollen cloth, cotton, or linen. It is also used as a drug. 1851 Richardson Geol. v. (1855) 84 Alkalis..change to a reddish brown the yellow colour of paper stained with turmeric. |
b. applied to other products:
† by English herbalists to the root of Tormentil (in
obs. F.
souchet de bois, as distinct from
souchet d'Inde, Indian galingale, curcuma) (
Cotgr.); also, the root-stock of
Sanguinaria canadensis, having medicinal qualities.
African turmeric, the fleshy underground stems of a species of
Canna, cultivated in Sierra Leone and used for dyeing yellow.
Indian turmeric (of N. America), the yellow root of
Hydrastis canadensis, occasionally used in dyeing and medicinally. See also
quot. 1898.
| 1538 Turner Libellus, Heptaphillon, officinis bistorta, & tormentilla, nostratibus Tormentyll & Tormeryke dicitur. 1548 ― Names of Herbes 87 Tormentilla,..in englishe Tormentil, or Tomerik. 1857 Dunglison Med. Lex., Turmeric, Curcuma longa, Sanguinaria Canadensis. 1888 Encycl. Brit. XXIII. 662/2 In Sierra Leone a kind of turmeric is obtained from a species of Canna. 1890 Billings Med. Dict., Indian turmeric, Hydrastis canadensis. 1898 Morris Austral Eng., Turmeric, i.q. Stinkwood (q.v.); also applied occasionally to Hakea dactyloides, N.O. Proteaceæ. [Ibid., Stinkwood,..in Tasmania,..the timber of Zieria smithii, Andr., N.O. Rutaceæ.] |
2. The plant
Curcuma longa, N.O.
Zingiberaceæ.
| 1601 Holland Pliny xxi. xviii. II. 101 Cyperus..is counted to have a depilatorie vertue for to fech off haire. [Margin] This Cyperis is taken to be Curcuma, or Terramerita, called therupon corruptly, Turmericke. 1671 Salmon Syn. Med. iii. xxii. 397 Curcuma, κυπάρισσος ἰνδικός, Turmerick, the root opens the Gall,.. cures the Jaundies. 1785 Martyn Rousseau's Bot. xi. (1794) 118 This order contains several interesting plants, such as..turmerick. 1840 F. D. Bennett Whaling Voy. I. 42 Tobacco and turmeric grow wild in great abundance. |
3. attrib. and
Comb., as
turmeric crop,
turmeric plant,
turmeric powder,
turmeric root,
turmeric test-paper,
turmeric water;
turmeric-faced adj.;
turmeric-oil = turmerol;
turmeric paper, unsized paper tinged with a solution of turmeric, used as a test for alkalis;
turmeric pudding, a pudding coloured with turmeric;
turmeric-tree,
Zieria Smithii (
Acronychia Baueri), the stinkwood of Tasmania, a tree having bright yellow inner bark.
| 1912 Thurston Omens & Superst. S. India vii. 206 A human sacrifice, which was intended to give a rich colour to the *turmeric crop. |
| 1840 Hood Up the Rhine 48 That *turmeric-faced Yankee is my evil genius. |
| 1809 Pearson in Phil. Trans. XCIX. 316 The presence of an alkali I could in no instance perceive, by means of the usual tests, namely, *turmeric paper, litmus paper [etc.]. 1826 Henry Elem. Chem. II. 522 Turmeric paper and tincture are changed to a reddish brown by alkalis... Turmeric paper..however..is turned brown by muriatic acid gas and strong acids in general. 1857 G. Bird's Urin. Deposits (ed. 5) 288 The urine was clear, alkaline, turning turmeric paper brown. |
| 1837 Penny Cycl. VIII. 233/2 Curcuma longa, the *Turmerick plant. |
| 1866 Treas. Bot. 1250/2 The ground ginger of the shops is adulterated with sago-meal,..mustard husks, and *turmeric powder. |
| a 1704 T. Brown Walk round Lond., Thames Wks. 1709 III. iii. 59 To make his Countenance shine like a *Turmerick Pudding. |
| 1843 Penny Cycl. XXV. 416/2 *Turmeric root. 1868 Watts Dict. Chem. V. 919 The root of Canna speciosa,..in West Africa, is said to be exactly similar to East Indian turmeric-root, in taste, smell, and chemical reactions. |
| 1880 J. Dunbar Pract. Papermaker 70 *Turmeric test paper. |
| 1866 Treas. Bot. 1249/2 One [species of Zieria] common at Illawarra, and there called *Turmeric-tree, has a very yellow inner bark, suitable for dyeing. |
| 1913 Frazer Gold. Bough I. ii. vi. 68 Smeared with *turmeric water, they all bathe and return home. |
B. adj. Chem. Obtained from turmeric: in
turmeric acid, an acid, C
11H
14O
2, formed by the oxidation of turmerol.