See Also: nutmeg oil(medicine)
nutmeg(medicine)
Nutmeg(recipes)
nutmeg(dictionary)
nutmeg(encyclopedia)
nutmeg(dictionary)
Nutmeg - Soccer(gambling)
nutmeg liver(medicine)
Cauliflower and nutmeg soup(recipes)
Spinach and Nutmeg Soup(recipes)

nutmeg (iou)



nutmeg noun & verb. ME.
[Partial translation of Anglo-Norman alt. of Old French nois mug(u)ede (also musguete, mod. noix muscade) from medieval Latin nux muscata lit. 'musk-scented nut'.]
A. noun.
The hard spherical aromatic seed of the kernel of the fruit of Myristica fragrans (family Myristicaceae), an evergreen tree of the Moluccas; this kernel grated or ground and used as a spice in cooking (cf. MACE noun2); (in full nutmeg tree) the tree itself. Also (with specifying word), (a similar spice obtained from) any of several other, mostly unrelated, trees. ME.
Brazilian nutmeg (the spicy fruit of) a S. American tree, Cryptocarya moschata, of the laurel family. calabash nutmeg, West African nutmeg (the spicy seed of) a W. African tree, Monodora myristica (family Annonaceae). wooden nutmeg US [cf. Nutmeg State below] a false or fraudulent thing.
R. K. Narayan What halva would be worth its name if you did not crush a little nutmeg into it?
b. In pl. The testicles. slang. L17-M19.
c. Football. An act of kicking a ball between the legs of an opponent. slang. M20.
Any of several old varieties of peach, plum, etc. M17.
white nutmeg: see WHITE adjective.
A small noctuid moth, Discestra trifolii, with grey-brown forewings. E20.
Comb.: nutmeg-apple the fruit of the nutmeg tree; nutmeg-bird a brown speckled finch, Lonchura punctulata, of southern and eastern Asia; nutmeg-coloured adjective dark grey-brown with a reddish tinge; nutmeg hickory a hickory of the southern US, Carya myristicaeformis, bearing a fruit resembling a nutmeg; nutmeg liver Medicine a congested state of the liver, which presents a mosaic of light and dark brown patches in cross-section; nutmeg melon a musk melon with a netted rind like a nutmeg; Nutmeg State US the State of Connecticut, whose inhabitants reputedly passed off as the spice nutmeg-shaped pieces of wood; nutmeg tree: see sense 1 above.
b. verb trans. Infl. -gg-. Football. Deceive (an opponent) by kicking the ball through his or her legs. slang. L20.
nutmegged adjective = nutmeggy M18.
nutmeggy adjective (a) flavoured with or scented like nutmeg; (b) Medicine affected with nutmeg liver: M19.