Turmeric

tur′mėr-ik, n. the rhizome or root-stock of Curcuma longa , a handsome herbaceous plant cultivated all over India, its yellowish tubers yielding a deep-yellow powder used as a chemical test for the presence of alkalies. [Cf. Fr. terre-mérite —as if from L. terra , earth, and merit a , deserved; both prob. corr. from an Oriental name.]