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When it comes to meanings, garnish giveth, and garnish taketh away. To garnish something is to decorate it, embellish it, give it that extra bit of culinary or designer flair—say, a sprig of parsley or a string of garland. In decidedly different contexts, however, to garnish something—such as the wages of someone who is in debt—is to take it by legal authority. How did this word come to have such opposite meanings? The answer lies in garnish’s Anglo-French root, garnir, which has various meanings including “to give notice or legal summons” and “to decorate.” 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.
Synonyms
Examples of garnish in a Sentence
Adam S. Minsky, Forbes, 20 Nov. 2024
Chopped fresh chives or parsley: To garnish the final dish.
—Elizabeth Nelson, Southern Living, 31 Oct. 2024
Stephanie Gravalese, Forbes, 21 Nov. 2024
Each one stars a different sketch of a cocktail garnish.
—Megan Ulu-Lani Boyanton, Better Homes & Gardens, 20 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for garnish 
Dictionary Entries Near garnish
Cite this Entry
“Garnish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/garnish. Accessed 30 Nov. 2024.
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Transitive verb
Anglo-French garniss-, stem of garnir to garnish, give legal summons, warn, from Old French, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German warnōn to take heed
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