Words of the Week*

or, Similar Words, Very Different Origins
*Compliments of the OED

ginger |ˈjinjər|
noun
1) a hot fragrant spice made from the rhizome of a plant. It is chopped or powdered for cooking, preserved in syrup, or candied.
2) a Southeast Asian plant, which resembles bamboo in appearance, from which this rhizome is taken. • Zingiber officinale, family Zingiberaceae.
3) a light reddish-yellow color.
adjective
(chiefly of hair or fur) of a light reddish-yellow color.

ORIGIN late Old English gingifer, conflated in Middle English with Old French gingimbre, from medieval Latin gingiber, from Greek zingiberis, from Pali siṅgivera, of Dravidian origin.

gingerly |ˈjinjərlē|
adverb
in a careful or cautious manner : Jackson sat down very gingerly.
adjective
showing great care or caution : with strangers the preliminaries are taken at a gingerly pace.

ORIGIN early 16th cent.(in the sense [daintily, mincingly] ): perhaps from Old French gensor ‘delicate,’ comparative of gent ‘graceful,’ from Latin genitus ‘well-born.’