mustard
UK[ˈmʌstəd]US[ˈmʌstərd]
n
A thick yellow or brown sauce that tastes spicy and is eaten especially with meat.
n
A plant with yellow flowers whose seeds are used to make this sauce.
n
A brownish-yellow colour.
Morpheme Breakdown
must
ard
must
wine, must
ard
suffix
Etymology
The word 'mustard' originates from the Latin phrase mustum ardens, meaning "burning must." This refers to the condiment's original preparation method, where the pungent seeds of the mustard plant were mixed with unfermented grape juice (must) to create a paste. The term passed into Old French as moustarde, combining moust (must) with the noun-forming suffix -arde. The "burning" or pungent quality of the sauce, derived from the seeds, was the key characteristic that linked the condiment to the concept of "burning must," a logic preserved as the word entered Middle English.
Analysis
Structure: must (wine, must) + ard (suffix)
'must' is from Latin mustum, meaning "new wine, unfermented grape juice." '-ard' is a Germanic suffix (via Old French) often used to form nouns.
Examples
Would you like some mustard on your hot dog?
The fields were bright with yellow mustard flowers.
She wore a smart jacket in a shade of mustard.