mustard
n. C / Un. a thick, yellow or brown sauce with a sharp, spicy taste. It is made from the seeds of a plant and is often eaten with meat or in sandwiches.
n. a pungent condiment prepared from the seeds of the mustard plant, typically mixed with water, vinegar, or wine. Uncountable when referring to the substance; countable when referring to specific varieties or servings.
I like to put spicy mustard on my hot dog.
The chef recommended a honey mustard dressing to balance the bitterness of the salad greens.
While yellow mustard is a staple of American casual dining, European cuisines often favour the more intense, nasal heat of Dijon or English varieties to complement rich meats.
From Middle English mustard, from Old French moustarde (French moutarde), from moust (“must”), from Latin mustum. Compare Saterland Frisian Muster (“mustard”), Dutch mosterd (“mustard”), German Low German Musterd (“mustard”), Icelandic mustarður (“mustard”). Displaced Middle English senep, from Old English senep, from Latin sināpi (“mustard”). Sometimes mistakenly thought to come from Latin mustum ardens, but such a Latin phrase is not attested, and it is well understood that that the final -ard is derived from Old French -arde. Doublet of mostarda.
Uncountable for the general substance; countable when referring to different types or commercial varieties.