gingerbread

== English == === Alternative forms === gingebred (Scotland) === Etymology === From Middle English gyngebred, gyngebrede, from Old French gingembras, gingimbrat (“preserved ginger”), from Medieval Latin *gingimbrātus (“gingered”, presumably referring to ginger that perhaps had a pharmaceutical use for some medicinal preparation), with the intrusive m added to gingiber, from Latin zingiber (“ginger”), of earlier Sanskrit origin, through Ancient Greek ζιγγίβερις (zingíberis). The third syllable was earlier confounded with bread, and the insertion of an r in the second syllable completed the semblance of a compound word: ginger +‎ bread. === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈd͡ʒɪn.(d͡)ʒəˌbɹɛd/ (General American) IPA(key): /ˈd͡ʒɪn.d͡ʒɚˌbɹɛd/ Hyphenation: gin‧ger‧bread === Noun === gingerbread (countable and uncountable, plural gingerbreads) (cooking) A type of cake whose main flavoring is ginger. (figurative, obsolete) Something ersatz; something showy but insubstantial. (architecture) A flamboyant Victorian-era architectural style. === Verb === gingerbread (third-person singular simple present gingerbreads, present participle gingerbreading, simple past and past participle gingerbreaded) (transitive, idiomatic, uncommon) To decorate or embellish in an ornate or intricate way. Synonym: gingerbread up ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Related terms ==== ==== Translations ==== ==== Further reading ==== gingerbread on Wikipedia.Wikipedia