curcuma

[ kur-kyoo-muh ]

/ ˈkɜr kyʊ mə /

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noun

any of various chiefly Old World plants belonging to the genus Curcuma, of the ginger family, as C. domestica, yielding turmeric, or C. zedoaria, yielding zedoary.

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Origin of curcuma

1610–20; <New Latin <Arabic kurkum saffron, turmeric; cf. crocus

Words nearby curcuma

curbside, curbstone, curb weight, curch, curculio, curcuma, curcumin, curd, curd cheese, curdle, cur dog

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use curcuma in a sentence

Other changes of vegetables from climate or other causes are remarked in the note on Curcuma in the same work.
Evolution, Old & New|Samuel Butler
When a ponçeau red is wanted, two ounces of pounded curcuma (turmeric) should be added.
A Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures and Mines|Andrew Ure
An orange tinge is derived from the turmeric extracted from the short root stocks of a plant of the genus Curcuma.
Oriental Rugs|Walter A. Hawley
Turmeric is the root portion of a plant called curcuma tinctoria, that grows in Southern Asia.
The Chemistry of Hat Manufacturing|Watson Smith

Turmeric is a powder obtained from the ground-up tubers of Curcuma tinctoria, a plant found in India and other Eastern countries.
Vegetable Dyes|Ethel M. Mairet

British Dictionary definitions for curcuma

curcuma

/ (ˈkɜːkjʊmə) /

noun

any tropical Asian tuberous plant of the genus Curcuma, such as C. longa, which is the source of turmeric, and C. zedoaria, which is the source of zedoary: family Zingiberaceae

Word Origin for curcuma

C17: from New Latin, from Arabic kurkum turmeric

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012