The Collaborative International Dictionary
Mustard \Mus"tard\, n. [OF. moustarde, F. moutarde, fr. L. mustum must, -- mustard was prepared for use by being mixed with must. See Must, n.]
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(Bot.) The name of several cruciferous plants of the genus Brassica (formerly Sinapis), as white mustard ( Brassica alba), black mustard ( Brassica Nigra), wild mustard or charlock ( Brassica Sinapistrum).
Note: There are also many herbs of the same family which are called mustard, and have more or less of the flavor of the true mustard; as, bowyer's mustard ( Lepidium ruderale); hedge mustard ( Sisymbrium officinale); Mithridate mustard ( Thlaspi arvense); tower mustard ( Arabis perfoliata); treacle mustard ( Erysimum cheiranthoides).
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A powder or a paste made from the seeds of black or white mustard, used as a condiment and a rubefacient. Taken internally it is stimulant and diuretic, and in large doses is emetic.
Mustard oil (Chem.), a substance obtained from mustard, as a transparent, volatile and intensely pungent oil. The name is also extended to a number of analogous compounds produced either naturally or artificially.
WordNet
n. widespread Eurasian annual plant cultivated for its pungent seeds; a principal source of table mustard [syn: Brassica nigra]
Wikipedia
- redirect Brassica nigra
Usage examples of "black mustard".
Whitehead's Essence of Mustard is made with spirits of turpentine and rosemary, with which camphor and the farina of Black Mustard seed are mixed.
It has properties very similar to Black Mustard seeds, containing Sinigrin, a crystalline glucoside, which is decomposed in the presence of water by Myrosin, an enzyme found also in the root, the chief produce being the volatile oil Allyl, isothiocyanate, which is identical with that of Black Mustard seed.