Spice Meaning
/spaɪs/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounAromatic or pungent plant matter (usually dried) used to season or flavor food.
nounThe quality of being spicy.
Sentence Examples
What are little girls made of? Sugar and spice and everything nice.
She tried to spice up the conversation with gossip about the neighbors.
The only spice Tom puts on meat is pepper.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
Cinnamon is a popular ____ used to add warmth and sweetness to baked goods.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She added a pinch of every ____ she had in the cabinet to make the dish more flavorful and aromatic.
Word Origin & History
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *speḱ- Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European *spéḱyeti Proto-Italic *spekjō Late Latin speciō Proto-Italic *-jēs Late Latin -iēs Late Latin speciēs Old French espicebor. Anglo-Norman specebor. Middle English spice English spice Inherited from Middle English spice, from Old French espice (modern épice), from Late Latin speciēs (“spice, good, ware”), from Latin speciēs (“kind, sort”). Doublet of species.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Vanilla itself was transplanted from Madagascar, the main source of the spice, to Polynesia a century ago."
— 1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page 242:
"Honor, a^([sic]) 18-year-old high school student who thinks she has it more together than her fellow students and who looks to both Leslie and Bernie to provide friendship and spice in her life."
— 1979 April 28, Allen Young, “The Joy of Gay Lit”, in Gay Community News: The Gay Weekly, volume 6, number 39, Boston, Mass., →ISSN, page 13, column 3:
""I'm not going to promise anything after the perfectly fetid way you're running off," she retorted. "Still, it's pretty obvious that I shall stay here and do what I can for poor Geoffrey in the circumstances." It occurred to the hearer […] that there was a spice of "It is my duty and I will" in this praiseworthy resolve which fell short of the ecstatic resolution of the Saturday Nora."
— 1934, Ernest Bramah, The Bravo of London:
"Madame de Pompadour was fond of chocolates spiced with vanilla and amber."
— 1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page 242:
"City Men is pretty much the same kind of sentimental comedy spiced with wisecracks as The Women, a disappointingly familiar genre."
— 1985 February 2, Nicholas Deutsch, “City Men (review)”, in Gay Community News, volume 12, number 28, page 19:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
Cinnamon is a popular ____ used to add warmth and sweetness to baked goods.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She added a pinch of every ____ she had in the cabinet to make the dish more flavorful and aromatic.