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word of the day

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The word for today is…

garnish (verb, noun):

verb
1a : decorate, embellish
b : to add decorative or savory touches to (food or drink)
2 : to equip with accessories

noun
1 : embellishment, ornament
2 : something (such as lemon wedges or parsley) used to decorate or flavor food or drink
3a : an unauthorized fee formerly extorted from a new inmate of an English jail
b : a similar payment required of a new worker

Source : Merriam -Webster

Etymology : Although we now mostly garnish food, the general application of the “decorate” meaning is older. The link between embellishing an object or space and adding a little parsley to a plate isn’t too hard to see, but how does the sense relating to debtors’ wages fit in? The answer lies in the word’s Anglo-French root, garnir, which means “to warn or to equip.” Before wages were garnished, the debtor would be served with a legal summons or warning. The legal sense of “garnish” now focuses on the taking of the wages, but it is rooted in the action of furnishing the warning.

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