turmeric

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun A widely cultivated tropical plant (Curcuma longa) of India, having yellow flowers and an aromatic, somewhat fleshy rhizome.
• noun The powdered rhizome of this plant, used as a spice and a yellow dye.
• noun Any of several other plants having similar rhizomes.

from The Century Dictionary.

• noun In Australia, either of two species of trees: Zieria Smithii, the stinkwood of Tasmania, which see, under stinkwood ; and Hakea dactyloides, an evergreen shrub of the family Proteaceæ.
• Noting an acid, a compound, C₁₁H₁₄O₂, formed by the oxidation of turmerol by means of potassium permanganate.
• noun The rhizome of Curcuma longa, a plant of the ginger family, native and long cultivated in the East Indies.
• noun The plant producing turmeric.
• noun The bloodroot, Sanguinaria Canadensis.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• noun (Bot.) An East Indian plant of the genus Curcuma, of the Ginger family.
• noun The root or rootstock of the Curcuma longa. It is externally grayish, but internally of a deep, lively yellow or saffron color, and has a slight aromatic smell, and a bitterish, slightly acrid taste. It is used for a dye, a medicine, a condiment, and a chemical test.
• adjective (Chem.) Of or pertaining to turmeric; resembling, or obtained from, turmeric; specif., designating an acid obtained by the oxidation of turmerol.
• adjective (Chem.) paper impregnated with turmeric and used as a test for alkaline substances, by which it is changed from yellow to brown.
• adjective (Bot.) Orangeroot.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• noun An Indian plant, Curcuma longa, with aromatic rhizomes, part of the ginger family (Zingiberaceae).
• noun The pulverized rhizome of the turmeric plant, used for stimulation, flavoring and to add a bright yellow color to food.
• noun A yellow to reddish-brown dye extracted from the turmeric plant.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• noun widely cultivated tropical plant of India having yellow flowers and a large aromatic deep yellow rhizome; source of a condiment and a yellow dye
• noun ground dried rhizome of the turmeric plant used as seasoning