Word Study
Truffle
WORDNET DICTIONARY
Noun Truffle has 3 senses
- truffle(n = noun.plant) earth-ball, earthnut - any of various highly prized edible subterranean fungi of the genus Tuber; grow naturally in southwestern Europe; Array is a member of genus tuber, tuber
- truffle(n = noun.food) earthnut - edible subterranean fungus of the genus Tuber; Array is a kind of veg, vegetable, veggie
- truffle(n = noun.food) chocolate truffle - creamy chocolate candy; Array is a kind of candy, confect
is a kind of fungus
CIDE DICTIONARY
Truffle, n. [OF. trufle, F. truffe; akin to Sp. trufa, tartufo; of uncertain origin; perhaps from L. tuber a tumor, knob, truffle. Cf. Tuber, Trifle.].
Any one of several kinds of roundish, subterranean fungi, usually of a blackish color. The French truffle (Tuber melanosporum ) and the English truffle (Tuber æstivum ) are much esteemed as articles of food. [1913 Webster]
"When trained, certain pigs have a peculiar ability to smell truffles which lie underground, making them useful for searching out hidden truffles."
[1913 Webster]
OXFORD DICTIONARY
Truffle, n.
1 any strong-smelling underground fungus of the order Tuberales, used as a culinary delicacy and found esp. in France by trained dogs or pigs.
2 a usu. round sweet made of chocolate mixture covered with cocoa etc.
1 any strong-smelling underground fungus of the order Tuberales, used as a culinary delicacy and found esp. in France by trained dogs or pigs.
2 a usu. round sweet made of chocolate mixture covered with cocoa etc.
Etymology
prob. f. Du. truffel f. obs. F truffle ult. f. L tubera pl. of TUBER
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