Dictionary Definition

garnish

1 something (such as parsley) added to a dish for flavor or decoration

2 any decoration added as a trimming or adornment

1 take a debtor's wages on legal orders, such as for child support; "His employer garnished his wages in order to pay his debt" [syn: garnishee]

2 decorate (food), as with parsley or other ornamental foods [syn: trim, dress]

User Contributed Dictionary

From Middle English, From Middle French garniss.

To decorate with ornamental appendages; to set off; to adorn; to embellish; as, all within with flowers was garnished.
To ornament, as a dish, with something laid about it; as, a dish garnished with parsley.
To furnish; to supply.

By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens; his hand hath formed the crooked serpent. (Job 26:13, KJV)
To fit with fetters.
To warn by garnishment; to give notice to; to garnishee.

To decorate with ornamental appendages

To ornament

To furnish; to supply

To fit with fetters

To warn by garnishment

a set of dishes, often pewter, containing a dozen pieces of several types.
pewter vessels in general.
Quotations
- 1882: The accounts of collegiate and monastic institutions give abundant entries of the price of pewter vessels, called also garnish. — James Edwin Thorold Rogers, A History of Agriculture and Prices in England, Volume 4, p. 478.

Garnish may refer to:

Garnish, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
Garnish (fee), a fee paid by a new prisoner to other prisoners upon arrival at a jail
Garnish (food), a substance used primarily as an embellishment or decoration to a prepared food or drink item
Cocktail garnish, decorative ornaments that add character or style to a mixed drink