# garlic

Pronunciation: say "GAR-lik" US /ˈɡɑɹlɪk/, UK /ˈɡɑːlɪk/

## Noun

1. A preparation of the bulb of Allium sativum used as a food ingredient, or the pungent flavor and aroma typical of that ingredient.
   - Simple: A strong-tasting ingredient made from a plant bulb, used to give food a sharp flavor.
   - _The recipe calls for two cloves of minced garlic and a pinch of salt._
   - _Slow roasting mellows garlic into something sweet and spreadable._
2. A plant, Allium sativum, related to the onion, whose pungent bulb is widely used in cooking.
   - Simple: A plant related to the onion, grown for its strong-smelling bulb that people use in cooking.
   - _Garlic thrives in well-drained soil and is usually planted in the fall._
   - _Like its onion relatives, garlic sends up a tall flower stalk in midsummer._

## Verb

3. To season or flavor food with garlic.
   - Simple: To add garlic to food to give it flavor.
   - _The chef likes to garlic the butter before spreading it across the loaf._
   - _He garlicked the roast generously before sliding it into the oven._

## Origin

Inherited from Middle English garlek, from Old English gārlēac, literally 'spear-leek', from gār ('spear', referring to its sharp, tapering leaves) plus lēac ('leek'). It is cognate with Scots garlic, Faroese geirleykur, and Icelandic geirlaukur.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/garlic (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).