Garnish

Podcast 1 · Introduction

Garnish

A documentary-style narration: origin, meaning, and feel.

Part of speech

noun and verb

Pronunciation

GAR-nish  /ˈɡɑːnɪʃ/

Definition

As a verb: to decorate or embellish food with small amounts of an additional ingredient; to decorate something generally; (legal) to seize money held by a third party to satisfy a debt. As a noun: something used to decorate food, typically a small portion of a contrasting ingredient.

Plain meaning

To garnish food is to decorate it — a sprig of parsley on a plate is a garnish. In law, to garnish wages means to have a portion withheld to pay a debt.

Register

Standard and everyday in culinary contexts. Technical and legal in the wage garnishment sense. The culinary noun — a garnish — is entirely neutral and common.