Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
Alpinia galanga

Alpinia galanga

8.9
A plant from Southeast Asia whose strong smelling roots people use in cooking and medicine
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : galanga
  • The aromatic roots of Alpinia galanga have both culinary and medicinal uses.

Examples

  • Traditional Thai soups often include slices of Alpinia galanga in their recipes.

  • Researchers studied the antibacterial properties of extracts from Alpinia galanga.

  • I love using Alpinia galanga in my curry recipes.

  • Have you ever tried Alpinia galanga in your cooking?

  • The aromatic roots of Alpinia galanga have both culinary and medicinal uses.

  • Traditional Thai soups often include slices of Alpinia galanga in their recipes.

  • I love using Alpinia galanga in my curry recipes.

Synonyms

galangal
vsAlpinia galanga
1 9.9

A spicy root like ginger used in Asian cooking and medicine

is one specific Southeast Asian species of that group used in cooking and medicine

Surface Forms

Alpinia galanga singular
Alpinia galangas plural

Morphology

Alpinia + galanga

This is a literal botanical binomial (genus + species) naming a plant rather than an idiomatic phrase; its meaning (a type of Alpinia, i.e. an aromatic ginger-like herb) is directly compositional and non-metaphorical. Although the species epithet 'galanga' is rare in everyday vocabulary, the construction transparently signals a specific plant when the constituent meanings are known.

Etymology

Alpinia galanga gets its name from Alpinia, named for the Italian doctor Prospero Alpini who studied plants, and galanga, which comes from an old Asian word for a spicy root. So the full name points to the spicy, ginger-like plant known as 'greater galangal'.