Standard Lemma guide

nutmeg

noun · verb · 10 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˈnʌt.mɛɡ/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: N AH1 T M EH2 G Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

An evergreen tree (Myristica fragrans) cultivated in the East Indies for its spicy seeds.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

The aromatic seed of this tree, used as a spice.

The powdered seed, ready for use.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

The aromatic seed of this tree, used as a spice.

A whole nutmeg seed.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

A small moth, Hadula trifolii, feeding on plants and native to the Northern Hemisphere.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

A grey-brown colour.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

noun

Meaning 6

The playing of the ball between the legs of an opponent.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Qualifier: field hockey or ice hockey

Topics: ball-games, basketball, games, hobbies, lifestyle, soccer, sports

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

verb

Meaning 7

To flavour with nutmeg.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

Examples

  • She decided the eggnog was lacking in flavor, so she decided to nutmeg it heavily.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

8

verb

Meaning 8

To play the ball between the legs of (an opponent).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

Topics: hobbies, lifestyle, sports

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

9

noun

Meaning 9

hard aromatic seed of the nutmeg tree used as spice when grated or ground

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: spice

10

noun

Meaning 10

East Indian tree widely cultivated in the tropics for its aromatic seed; source of two spices: nutmeg and mace

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: nutmeg tree, Myristica fragrans

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: spice tree

History

Etymology

From Middle English notemege, notemuge, a partial translation of Medieval Latin nux muga, a variant of Medieval Latin nux muscata (“musky nut”). Compare also Old French nois mugede. For the term used in various ball sports, see Wikipedia.

Across languages

Translations

219 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Albanian: arrë muskat — tree
  • Armenian: մշկընկույզ (mškənkuyz) — tree
  • Azerbaijani: cövüz — tree
  • Bulgarian: муска́тово о́рехче (muskátovo órehče) — tree
  • Bulgarian: инди́йско о́рехче (indíjsko órehče) — tree
  • Bulgarian: муска́т (muskát) — tree
  • Bulgarian: муска́тово дърво́ (muskátovo dǎrvó) — tree
  • Burmese: ဇာတိပ္ဖိုလ် (jatiphpuil) — tree
  • Czech: muškátovník — tree
  • Czech: macizeň pravá — tree
  • Dutch: muskaatboom — tree
  • Finnish: muskottipuu — tree
  • French: muscadier — tree
  • German: Muskatnussbaum — tree
  • German: Muskatbaum — tree
  • Greek: μοσχοκαρυδιά (moschokarydiá) — tree
  • Hawaiian: hua ʻala — tree
  • Hebrew: מוסקט (muscat) — tree
  • Hindi: जायफल (jāyphal) — tree
  • Hungarian: szerecsendiófa — tree
  • Ido: muskadiero — tree
  • Indonesian: pala — tree
  • Japanese: ニクズク (nikuzuku) — tree
  • Kalmyk: зать (zatʹ) — tree
  • Kannada: ಜಾಪತ್ರೆ (jāpatre) — tree
  • Northeast Kiwai: rehebo — tree
  • Macedonian: му́скатов о́рев (múskatov órev) — tree
  • Macedonian: мо́рски о́рев (mórski órev) — tree
  • Macedonian: му́скатно о́ревче (múskatno órevče) — tree
  • Malay: pala — tree
  • Mato: mada — tree
  • Persian: جوز هندی (jowz-e hendi) — tree
  • Persian: گوز هندی (gowz-e hendi) — tree
  • Polish: muszkatowiec — tree
  • Polish: muszkatołowiec — tree
  • Polish: muszkat — tree
  • Portuguese: noz-moscada — tree
  • Romanian: nucșor — tree
  • Ronji: maja — tree
  • Russian: муска́тный оре́х (muskátnyj oréx) — tree
  • Russian: муска́т (muskát) — tree
  • Russian: муска́тник (muskátnik) — tree
  • Serbo-Croatian: muškatni oraščić — tree
  • Serbo-Croatian: muškat — tree
  • Serbo-Croatian: muškatni orah — tree
  • Serbo-Croatian: muškatnica — tree
  • Serbo-Croatian: muškatno drvo — tree
  • Sicilian: nuci muscata — tree
  • Sinhalese: සාදික්කා (sādikkā) — tree
  • Slovene: muškatni orešček — tree
  • Slovene: muškatni orešek — tree
  • Slovene: muškatno drevo — tree
  • Slovene: muškatovec — tree
  • Slovene: muškat — tree
  • Spanish: árbol de la nuez moscada — tree
  • Spanish: mirística — tree
  • Swahili: mkungumanga — tree
  • Swedish: muskot — tree
  • Swedish: muskotträd — tree
  • Tagalog: moskada — tree
  • Tamil: சாதிக்காய்மரம் (cātikkāymaram) — tree
  • Tamil: சீமைக்கள்ளி (cīmaikkaḷḷi) — tree
  • Turkish: Hint cevizi — tree
  • Turkish: muskat — tree
  • Ukrainian: муска́тний горі́х (muskátnyj horíx) — tree
  • Ukrainian: муска́т (muskát) — tree
  • Ukrainian: муска́тник (muskátnyk) — tree
  • Welsh: nytmeg — tree
  • Welsh: nytmegs — tree
  • Yiddish: מושקאַט (mushkat) — tree
  • Yiddish: מוסקאַטבוים (muskatboym) — tree
  • Yiddish: מושקעטבוים (mushketboym) — tree
  • Afrikaans: neutmuskaat — spice
  • Albanian: arrë muskat — spice
  • Arabic: جَوْزَةْ اَلطِّيب (jawzat aṭ-ṭīb) — spice
  • Arabic: جوزة الطيب (guzt eṭ-ṭīb) — spice
  • Arabic: جوزة الطِّيب (jōzat aṭ-ṭīb) — spice
  • Armenian: մշկընկույզ (mškənkuyz) — spice
  • Azerbaijani: cövüz — spice
  • Bulgarian: муска́тово о́рехче (muskátovo órehče) — spice
  • Bulgarian: инди́йско о́рехче (indíjsko órehče) — spice
  • Bulgarian: муска́т (muskát) — spice
  • Burmese: ဇာတိပ္ဖိုလ်စေ့ (jatiphpuilce.) — spice
  • Catalan: nou moscada — spice
  • Chinese Mandarin: 肉豆蔻 (ròudòukòu) — spice
  • Cornish: knowen vuskat — spice
  • Cornish: know muskat — spice
  • Crimean Tatar: miskat cevizi — spice
  • Czech: muškát — spice
  • Czech: muškátový ořech — spice
  • Danish: muskat — spice
  • Danish: muskatnød — spice
  • Dhivehi: ތަކޫވައް (takūvak̊) — spice
  • Dutch: muskaat — spice
  • Dutch: muskaatnoot — spice
  • Dutch: nootmuskaat — spice
  • Esperanto: muskato — spice
  • Finnish: muskotti — spice
  • Finnish: muskottipähkinä — spice
  • French: noix de muscade — spice
  • French: noix muscade — spice
  • Georgian: მუსკატი (musḳaṭi) — spice
  • Georgian: ჯავზი (ǯavzi) — spice
  • German: Muskat — spice
  • German: Muskatnuss — spice
  • Greek: μοσχοκάρυδο (moschokárydo) — spice
  • Ancient Greek: κώμακον (kṓmakon) — spice
  • Ancient Greek: μοσχοκάρυον (moskhokáruon) — spice
  • Ancient Greek: μοσχοκαρύδιον (moskhokarúdion) — spice
  • Gujarati: જાયફળ (jāyaphaḷ) — spice
  • Hawaiian: hua ʻala — spice
  • Hindi: जायफल (jāyphal) — spice
  • Hungarian: szerecsendió — spice
  • Icelandic: múskat — spice
  • Ido: muskado — spice
  • Indonesian: pala — spice
  • Irish: noitmig — spice
  • Italian: noce moscata — spice
  • Japanese: ナツメグ (natsumegu) — spice
  • Kalmyk: зать (zatʹ) — spice
  • Khmer: ឡាវហាវ (laawhaaw) — spice
  • Low German: Muschatennööt — spice
  • Low German: Beschatennööt — spice
  • Luxembourgish: Muskot — spice
  • Macedonian: му́скат (múskat) — spice
  • Macedonian: мо́рско о́ревче (mórsko órevče) — spice
  • Macedonian: му́скатно о́ревче (múskatno órevče) — spice
  • Malay: buah pala — spice
  • Brunei Malay: buah pala — spice
  • Māori: natimeke — spice
  • Marathi: जायफळ (j̈āyphaḷ) — spice
  • Norman: muscade — spice
  • Norwegian: muskatnøtt — spice
  • Norwegian Bokmål: muskat — spice
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: muskat — spice
  • Persian: جوز هندی (jowz-e hendi) — spice
  • Persian: گوز هندی (gowz-e hendi) — spice
  • Plautdietsch: Mauskelnät — spice
  • Polish: gałka muszkatołowa — spice
  • Portuguese: noz-moscada — spice
  • Romanian: nucșoară — spice
  • Russian: муска́тный оре́х (muskátnyj oréx) — spice
  • Russian: муска́т (muskát) — spice
  • Sanskrit: जाति (jāti) — spice
  • Sanskrit: फल (phala) — spice
  • Sanskrit: जातिफल (jātiphala) — spice
  • Sanskrit: जातीफल (jātīphala) — spice
  • Serbo-Croatian: muškatni oraščić — spice
  • Serbo-Croatian: muškat — spice
  • Serbo-Croatian: muškatni orah — spice
  • Sicilian: nuci muscata — spice
  • Slovene: muškatni orešček — spice
  • Slovene: muškatni orešek — spice
  • Slovene: muškat — spice
  • Spanish: nuez moscada — spice
  • Swahili: kungumanga — spice
  • Swedish: muskot — spice
  • Swedish: muskotnöt — spice
  • Tagalog: moskada — spice
  • Tamil: சாதிக்காய் (cātikkāy) — spice
  • Ternate: gosora — spice
  • Thai: จันทน์เทศ (jan-têet) — spice
  • Tibetan: ཛ་ཏི (dza ti) — spice
  • Turkish: muskat — spice
  • Ukrainian: муска́тний горі́х (muskátnyj horíx) — spice
  • Ukrainian: муска́т (muskát) — spice
  • Vietnamese: hạt nhục đậu khấu — spice
  • Welsh: cnau'r India — spice
  • Welsh: nytmeg — spice
  • Yiddish: מושקעט (mushket) — spice
  • Yiddish: מוסקאַט (muskat) — spice
  • Yiddish: מושקאַט (mushkat) — spice
  • Arabic: جِسْرٌ صَغِير (jisrun ṣaḡīr) — soccer/football sense
  • Arabic: كبري (kubri) — soccer/football sense
  • Catalan: túnel — soccer/football sense
  • Chinese Mandarin: 穿裆 (chuāndāng) — soccer/football sense
  • Czech: jesle — soccer/football sense
  • Czech: housle — soccer/football sense
  • Czech: gajdy — soccer/football sense
  • Danish: tunnel — soccer/football sense
  • Dutch: panna — soccer/football sense
  • Finnish: syöttö jalkojen välistä — soccer/football sense
  • Finnish: tunneli — soccer/football sense
  • French: petit pont — soccer/football sense
  • German: Tunnel — soccer/football sense
  • German: Beinschuss — soccer/football sense
  • Greek: ποδιά (podiá) — soccer/football sense
  • Hungarian: kötény — soccer/football sense
  • Hungarian: alagútcsel — soccer/football sense
  • Hungarian: bőr — soccer/football sense
  • Italian: tunnel — soccer/football sense
  • Norwegian Bokmål: tunnel — soccer/football sense
  • Polish: siatka — soccer/football sense
  • Polish: rybka — soccer/football sense
  • Portuguese: túnel — soccer/football sense
  • Portuguese: cueca — soccer/football sense
  • Portuguese: caneta — soccer/football sense
  • Portuguese: sainha — soccer/football sense
  • Sicilian: tunnel — soccer/football sense
  • Spanish: caño — soccer/football sense
  • Spanish: túnel — soccer/football sense
  • Swedish: tunnel — soccer/football sense
  • Turkish: beşik — soccer/football sense
  • Finnish: maustaa muskotilla — to flavour
  • French: muscader — to flavour
  • Polish: przyprawiać muszkatem — to flavour
  • Polish: przyprawić muszkatem — to flavour
  • Dutch: poorten — (soccer) to play the ball between the legs of an opponent
  • Finnish: syöttää jalkojen välistä — (soccer) to play the ball between the legs of an opponent
  • French: faire un petit pont — (soccer) to play the ball between the legs of an opponent
  • German: tunneln — (soccer) to play the ball between the legs of an opponent
  • Icelandic: klobba — (soccer) to play the ball between the legs of an opponent
  • Italian: fare un tunnel — (soccer) to play the ball between the legs of an opponent
  • Norwegian Bokmål: slå tunnel på — (soccer) to play the ball between the legs of an opponent
  • Polish: zakładać siatkę — (soccer) to play the ball between the legs of an opponent
  • Polish: założyć siatkę — (soccer) to play the ball between the legs of an opponent
  • Spanish: hacer un túnel — (soccer) to play the ball between the legs of an opponent
  • Swedish: tunnla — (soccer) to play the ball between the legs of an opponent
  • Turkish: beşik atmak — (soccer) to play the ball between the legs of an opponent