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garnish

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garnish¹

  • /ˈɡɑːnɪʃ/ UK
  • [ˈɡɑːnɪʃ] UK
  • /ˈɡäːnɪʃ/ Australia
  • [ˈɡäːnɪʃ] Australia
  • /ˈɡɐːnɪʃ/ Australia
  • [ˈɡɐ̞ːnɪʃ] Australia
  • /ˈɡɑɹnɪʃ/ US
  • [ˈɡɑɹnɪʃ] US

Rhymes with -ɑː(ɹ)nɪʃ

Where it comes from

From Middle English garnysshen, from Old French garniss-, stem of certain forms of the verb garnir, guarnir, warnir (“to provide, furnish, avert, defend, warn, fortify, garnish”), from a conflation of Old Frankish *warnijan (“to refuse, deny”) and *warnōn (“warn, protect, prepare, beware, guard oneself”), from Proto-Germanic *warnijaną (“to worry, care, heed”) and Proto-Germanic *warnōną (“to warn”); both from Proto-Indo-European *wer- (“to defend, protect, cover”). Cognate with Old English wiernan (“to withhold, be sparing of, deny, refuse, reject, decline, forbid, prevent from, avert”) and warnian (“to warn, caution, take warning, take heed, guard oneself against, deny”). More at warn.

verb garnishes · garnishing · garnished

  1. To decorate with ornaments; to adorn; to embellish. And all within with flowres was garnished,
  2. To ornament with something placed around it. a dish garnished with a sprig/spray of parsley
  3. archaic To furnish; to supply. By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens; his hand hath formed the crooked serpent.
  4. archaic, slang To fit with fetters; to fetter.
  5. To warn by garnishment; to give notice to.
  6. To have (money) set aside by court order (particularly for the payment of alleged debts); to garnishee. When the editorial board of Fire met again, we did not plan a new issue, but emptied our pockets to help poor Thurman whose wages were being garnished weekly because he had signed for the printer’s bills.

noun garnishes

  1. countable, uncountable A set of dishes, often pewter, containing a dozen pieces of several types.
  2. countable, uncountable Pewter vessels in general. The accounts of collegiate and monastic institutions give abundant entries of the price of pewter vessels, called also garnish.
  3. countable, uncountable Something added for embellishment. 1718, Matthew Prior, Alma: or, The Progress of the Mind, Canto 1, in Poems on Several Occasions, London: Jacob Tonson, p. 333, First Poets, all the World agrees, Write half to profit, half to please Matter and figure They produce; For Garnish This, and That for Use;

    Similar: decoration, ornament

  4. countable, uncountable Clothes; garments, especially when showy or decorative. So are you, sweet, Even in the lovely garnish of a boy.
  5. countable, uncountable Something set round or upon a dish as an embellishment.
  6. countable, obsolete, slang, uncountable Fetters.
  7. historical, slang, uncountable A fee; specifically, in English jails, formerly an unauthorized fee demanded from a newcomer by the older prisoners. 1699, B. E., A New Dictionary of the Canting Crew, London: W. Hawes et al., Garnish money, what is customarily spent among the Prisoners at first coming in.
  8. US, countable, slang, uncountable Cash.

Garnish²

  • /ˈɡɑɹ.nɪʃ/

Sounds like garnish · Rhymes with -ɑː(ɹ)nɪʃ

Where it comes from

Etymology unknown.

proper noun

  1. A town in Newfoundland, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: dress, trim, decoration, ornament, décor, decorating, lining, clothe, upholstery, stuffing, trimming, packer, filling, swell, filler, populate

Translations

Every language

verb to decorate with ornamental appendages

Españolguarnecer
Portuguêsguarnecer
Deutschverzieren
Italianoguarnire, decorare, adornare
Русскийукраша́ть ukrašátʹ, укра́сить ukrásitʹ
العربيةزَيَّن zayyan, زَخْرَف zaḵraf

verb to ornament (food)

Españolguarnecer
Portuguêsguarnecer, ornar, ornamentar
Deutschverzieren, garnieren
Italianoornare, abbellire
Русскийгарни́ровать garnírovatʹ
العربيةزَيَّن zayyan

verb to furnish; to supply

Españolguarnecer
Portuguêsguarnecer, suprir, fornecer, abastecer
Italianofornire
Русскийснабжа́ть snabžátʹ, снабди́ть snabdítʹ

noun something added for embellishment

Españolguarnición
Portuguêsguarnição
Françaisgarniture
Русскийукраше́ние ukrašénije

noun something set round or upon a dish

Españolguarnición
Portuguêsguarnição
Françaisgarniture
Русскийгарни́р garnír

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Cite this
MLA

"garnish." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/garnish. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

garnish. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/garnish

Chicago

"garnish." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/garnish.

BibTeX
@misc{garnish_2026,
  title = {garnish},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/garnish},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}