nutmeg English · revision 1027

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈnʌt.mɛɡ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|notemuge]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) a partial translation of Anglo-French or Old North French ''*noiz mugue'',^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) from Old French ''nois muguete'', an alteration of ''nois muscade'' “nut smelling like musk”,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) from [[oc|notz muscada]],^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate) from [[la|nux|t=nut]] and ''muscada'' “musky”.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) It was probably also influenced by [[la-med|nux muscata]] or ''nux maga''.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The hard aromatic seed of an East Indian tree, used as a spice (c. 1300).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The name was extended to the tree itself (1594, in ''nutmeg-tree'') and to varieties of fruit (1664).^(OED 1989) In American English a ''wooden nutmeg'' is anything false or fraudulent (1827–30),^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) from the story that wooden nutmegs were made in Connecticut for sale, which is hence called the Nutmeg State.^(Etymonline) In football, to ''nutmeg'' is to play the ball between an opponent's legs.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1300 – the spice.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1594 – ''nutmeg-tree''.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1610 – used of a colour or appearance.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1827 – ''wooden nutmeg'', a fraud.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The hard, aromatic seed of an [[evergreen]] tree, ''Myristica fragrans'', of the [[Moluccas]], used grated or ground as a [[spice]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # The tree that produces this seed.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A greyish to moderate brown colour.^(AHD)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # ''(football)'' To play the ball between the legs of (an opponent).^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[nutmegged]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[musk]]

+ * [[muscat]]

+ * [[mace]]

+ * [[nucleus]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}