gingerbread

[ jin-jer-bred ]
/ ˈdʒɪn dʒərˌbrɛd /

noun

a type of cake flavored with ginger and molasses.
a rolled cookie similarly flavored, often cut in fanciful shapes, and sometimes frosted.
elaborate, gaudy, or superfluous architectural ornamentation: a series of gables embellished with gingerbread.

adjective

heavily, gaudily, and superfluously ornamented: a gingerbread style of architecture.

Origin of gingerbread

1250–1300; Middle English gingebreed (influenced by breed bread), variant of gingebrad, -brat ginger paste < Old French gingembras, -brat preserved ginger < Medieval Latin *gingi(m)brātum a medicinal preparation (neuter past participle), derivative of Latin gingiber ginger

OTHER WORDS FROM gingerbread

gin·ger·bread·y, adjective

Example sentences from the Web for gingerbread

British Dictionary definitions for gingerbread

gingerbread
/ (ˈdʒɪndʒəˌbrɛd) /

noun

a moist brown cake, flavoured with ginger and treacle or syrup
  1. a rolled biscuit, similarly flavoured, cut into various shapes and sometimes covered with icing
  2. (as modifier)gingerbread man
  1. an elaborate but unsubstantial ornamentation
  2. (as modifier)gingerbread style of architecture