Definition of "galingale" [gal•in•gale]

• Any of various sedges of the genus Cyperus, especially C. longus of Europe, having rough-edged leaves, reddish spikelets, and aromatic roots. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "It’s like—Well, have either of you ever heard of a spice called galingale?"
• "Each of the spices in the three mixtures appears in other combinations, and some recipes also use coriander seeds and cardamom, as well as spices that are even more exotic today than they were in fourteenth-century Venice, such as galingale and melegueta pepper."
• "He found abundant cinnamon in Tibet and Malabar; saw ginger growing along the Yellow River; reported a busy trade in ginger, sugar, and galingale in the ports of Bengal; and witnessed locally grown pepper, nutmeg, cubeb, and cloves on sale in Java."