ENGLISH
REFERENCE

garlic

n. uncountable
A2 Elementary US //ˈɡɑɹɫɪk// UK //ɡˈɑːlɪk// gar·lic

n. a strong-smelling vegetable that looks like a white onion. You use its small parts, called cloves, to add a sharp and savory taste to food.

n. a pungent bulb of the lily family, Allium sativum, used globally as a flavoring agent in cooking. It consists of several smaller sections known as cloves.


SIMPLE

I always add extra garlic to my pasta sauce.

CONTEXTUAL

The recipe calls for three cloves of crushed garlic to be sautéed in olive oil until they turn golden brown.

COMPLEX

While raw garlic possesses a sharp and biting intensity, slow-roasting the bulb transforms the cloves into a mild, spreadable paste with a complex and slightly sweet profile.

Synonyms
Origin

Inherited from Middle English garlek, garlik, from Old English gārlēac (“garlic”, literally “spear-leek”), from gār ("spear"; in reference to its sharp, tapering leaves) + lēac (“leek”). Cognate with Scots garlic (“garlic”), Faroese geirleykur (“garlic”), Icelandic geirlaukur (“garlic”).

Usage

Typically uncountable when referring to the flavor or the plant in general; countable when referring to the individual bulbs.

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