chicory

noun

chic·​o·​ry ˈchi-k(ə-)rē How to pronounce chicory (audio)
variants or less commonly chickory
plural chicories
1
: a thick-rooted usually blue-flowered European perennial composite herb (Cichorium intybus) widely grown for its roots and as a salad plant compare belgian endive, radicchio
2
: the dried ground roasted root of chicory used to flavor or adulterate coffee

Examples of chicory in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Fall Chicory-and-Herb Salad With Warm Goat-Cheese Toasts This salad will accommodate most any variety of chicory, though radicchio and frisée balance each other especially well. Kitty Greenwald, WSJ, 8 Nov. 2023 The menu highlighted all of Saint Theo’s signature recipes, like the chicory salad, lemon linguine, spicy cherry tomato spaghetti, branzino, and dark chocolate budinos, an Italian delicacy, for dessert. Eliseé Browchuk, Vogue, 19 Oct. 2023 Brussels sprouts, chicory, pumpkin, butternut squash, parsnips, and Swiss chard are just some of the delicious veggies that are in season right now. Sunset Staff, Sunset Magazine, 12 Oct. 2023 Offer the lady a cup of chicory, said the woman with the duck. Mathias Énard, Harper's Magazine, 11 Oct. 2023 This set from Cafe Du Monde comes with one 15-ounce can of coffee and chicory, as well as a box of beignet mix, which can make four dozen beignets to eat with the coffee. Moriah Mason, Southern Living, 18 Oct. 2023 While chicory is also cultivated in the form of Belgian endive (the blanched, milky yellow root first harvested in Brussels in the 19th century) and puntarelle (spiny stalks famously beloved by Romans), radicchio is by far its most dramatic incarnation. Zoey Poll Kyoko Hamada, New York Times, 18 Oct. 2023 Growing chicories can be challenging, so Carter suggests doing your advance work before committing to the long but rewarding process of cultivating them. Hugh Garvey, Sunset Magazine, 5 Oct. 2023 The notion of putting chicory in coffee came to Louisiana by way of the French, who colonized the area in the 17th century. Taylor Tobin, Southern Living, 27 July 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'chicory.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

alteration of Middle English cicoree, from Anglo-French, from Latin cichoreum, from Greek kichoreia

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of chicory was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near chicory

Cite this Entry

“Chicory.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chicory. Accessed 2 Dec. 2023.

Kids Definition

chicory

noun
chic·​o·​ry ˈchik-(ə-)rē How to pronounce chicory (audio)
plural chicories
: a thick-rooted usually blue-flowered European herb related to the daisies and grown for its roots and as a salad plant
also : its dried ground roasted root that is sometimes added to coffee

More from Merriam-Webster on chicory

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