mustard English · revision 931
11 Oct 2026, 02:45 by bogdan “New entry from the dictionary sources (AHD, Barnhart, Etymonline, MW, OED, RHWU, Wiktionary)” current version
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+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA: /ˈmʌstəɹd/^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ==Etymology==
+ It is [[inh|enm|mustard]], [[bor|fro|moustarde]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) from ''moust'' “must, new wine”,^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) from [[la|mustum|t=unfermented wine]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) because the condiment was originally made by mixing the ground seeds with must.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU)
+
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ The ground seeds of the mustard plant, used as a condiment (1289);^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995) it is found earlier as a surname (1190).^(Barnhart 1995)
+
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ The name of the condiment passed to the plant itself by the mid-14th century (1340).^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) The colour name, a brownish yellow, dates from 1848.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) In slang ''mustard'' meant the best of anything (1903), probably as that which adds flavour, which gave the phrase ''to cut the mustard'', “to reach the required standard” (1907).^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) ''Mustard gas'', a poison gas first used at Ypres in 1917, was named for its colour, smell and burning effect, though it contains no mustard.^(Etymonline)
+
+ ==Timeline==
+ * 1190 – as a surname.^(Barnhart 1995)
+ * 1289 – the condiment.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)
+ * 1340 – the plant.^(OED 1989)
+ * 1848 – a brownish-yellow colour.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)
+ * 1907 – ''to cut the mustard''.^(Etymonline)
+ * 1917 – ''mustard gas''.^(Etymonline)
+
+ ==Modern meaning==
+ ===Noun===
+ # A pungent yellow paste or powder made from the ground seeds of certain plants, used as a [[condiment]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+ # Any of various plants of the genus ''Brassica'' and related genera, with yellow flowers, grown for their pungent seeds.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+ # A dark yellow to light olive-brown colour.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ===Adjective===
+ # Of a dark yellow colour.^(OED 1989)^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ==Word family==
+ * [[mustardy]]
+ * [[mustard gas]]
+ * [[mustard oil]]
+ * [[mustard plaster]]
+
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[must]]
+ * [[cress]]
+
+ ==References==
+ {{reflist}}