zest en · NOUN
Pronunciation
Etymology
Borrowed from French zeste.
Meanings
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(countable, uncountable) The outer skin of a citrus fruit, used as a flavouring or garnish.
The orange zest gives the strong flavor in this dish.
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(countable, uncountable) General vibrance of flavour.
I add zest to the meat by rubbing it with a spice mixture before grilling.
He rolled his own cigarettes from a sack of Bull Durham, spilling flakes into his beer, which no doubt gained in zest thereby.
1959, Peter De Vries, The Tents of Wickedness, Boston: Little, Brown & Co., The Treehouse, Chapter 7, page 92:Bashele’s dishes tasted as good as they had when I was a child. No one could give to the borscht such a sweet-and-sour zest as Bashele.
1978, Isaac Bashevis Singer, translated by Joseph Singer et al., Shosha, New York: Fawcett Crest, Part One, Chapter Five, 1, p. 99:
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(broadly, countable, uncountable) Enthusiasm; keen enjoyment; exciting and interesting; relish or gusto; a state of being zesty.
1807, Thomas Cogan, An Ethical Treatise on the Passions, Bath: Hazard & Binns, Part 1, Disquisition 1, Chapter 1, Section 1 “On the utility of the Passions and Affections,” p. 51, Liberality of disposition and conduct gives the highest zest and relish to social intercourse.
The singers, male and female, wore blue jeans and long hair and had more zest than talent.
1962, James Baldwin, Another Country, New York: Dell, published 1963, Book Two, Chapter 2, p. 221:Auntie Mame had a real zest for life.
And never did Isabella relieve a suffering fellow-creature, or assist a beloved sister, without blessing the dear, distant one that had made her rich, and kissing her sweet boy with new zest, as the son of his father.
1842, [anonymous collaborator of Letitia Elizabeth Landon], chapter XXXIV, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 139:Once started, Mrs. Bolton was better than any book, about the lives of the people. She knew them all so intimately, and had such a peculiar, flamey zest in all their affairs, it was wonderful, if just a trifle humiliating to listen to her.
1928, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, chapter 9, in Lady Chatterley’s Lover, Gutenberg edition, [Florence, Italy]: [ […] Tipografia Giuntina, […]], →OCLC; republished as Lady Chatterley’s Lover (eBook no. 0100181h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg Australia, August 2011, archived from the original on 11 Nov 2020:1728, Edward Young, Love of Fame, the Universal Passion, Satire II in The Works of the Reverend Edward Young, London: P. Brown, H. Hill & S. Payne, 1765, Volume I, p. 85, Almighty vanity! to thee they owe Their zest of pleasure, and their balm of woe.
59 sneak in some red Smuggle a bottle of wine, two glasses, and a corkscrew into a long matinee. Red wine is rich in life-extending antioxidants, and the caper will add zest even to a bad movie.
2008 January–February, “70 Ways to Improve Every Day of the Week”, in Men's Health, volume 23, number 1, →ISSN, page 135:
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(countable, rare, uncountable) The woody, thick skin enclosing the kernel of a walnut.
The green zest of walnuts was used by the women to shine their teeth and it also gave a beautiful rust colour to their lips.
2006, N. J. Nusha, On the Edge (Short Stories), Lahore: Sang-e-Meel Publications, page 85:
- (countable, derogatory, slang, uncountable) State of being a flamboyant or effeminate homosexual.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| zests | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
zestless (Terms derived from zest (noun)) · zesty (Terms derived from zest (noun)) · zest fest (Terms derived from zest (noun)) · zestlessness (Terms derived from zest (noun)) · zestfully (Terms derived from zest (noun)) · zestily (Terms derived from zest (noun)) · zestiness (Terms derived from zest (noun)) · zestlessly (Terms derived from zest (noun)) · zestful (Terms derived from zest (noun))
Synonyms
relish (enthusiasm) · tang (general vibrance of flavour) · punch (general vibrance of flavour) · zing (general vibrance of flavour) · gusto (enthusiasm) · spice (general vibrance of flavour)
Translations (73)
fr zeste (outer skin of citrus) · pl pikanteria (vibrance of flavour) · it entusiasmo (enthusiasm) · uk запал (enthusiasm) · gl azo (enthusiasm) · cs říz (vibrance of flavour) · no entusiasme (enthusiasm) · he חשק (enthusiasm) · fi ulkokuori (outer skin of citrus) · de Lust (enthusiasm) · de Zeste (outer skin of citrus) · it scorza (outer skin of citrus) · pl zapał (enthusiasm) · mi whiwhita (enthusiasm) · mi wana (enthusiasm) · pl werwa (enthusiasm) · he התלהבות (enthusiasm) · es ralladura (outer skin of citrus) · cs elán (enthusiasm) · bg охота (enthusiasm) · cmn 熱心 /热心 (enthusiasm) · ast arralladura (outer skin of citrus) · ka ინტერესი (enthusiasm) · pl entuzjazm (enthusiasm) · it buccia (outer skin of citrus) · oc peleta (outer skin of citrus) · cs radost (enthusiasm) · sk šupa (outer skin of citrus) · de Genuss (enthusiasm) · hu héj (outer skin of citrus) · sv zest (outer skin of citrus) · no zest (outer skin of citrus) · gl casca (outer skin of citrus) · cs šmrnc (vibrance of flavour) · pl skórka cytrusów (outer skin of citrus) · pt entusiasmo (enthusiasm) · ka გატაცება (enthusiasm) · gl entusiasmo (enthusiasm) · cs nadšení (enthusiasm) · fi into (enthusiasm) · de Begeisterung (enthusiasm) · uk завзяття (enthusiasm) · cs (citrusová) kůra (outer skin of citrus) · sk kôra (outer skin of citrus) · uk потяг (enthusiasm) · ca pela (outer skin of citrus) · pl bigiel (enthusiasm) · bg цитрусова кора (outer skin of citrus) · ru це́дра (outer skin of citrus) · de Freude (enthusiasm) · es brío (enthusiasm) · no ytterskall (outer skin of citrus) · no begeistring (enthusiasm) · he הנאה (enthusiasm) · fi kuori (outer skin of citrus) · bg склонност (enthusiasm) · nl geraspte citrusschil (outer skin of citrus) · fr entrain (enthusiasm) · es peladura (outer skin of citrus) · fi innostus (enthusiasm) · es cáscara (outer skin of citrus) · hu lelkesedés (enthusiasm) · ja 熱意 (enthusiasm) · pl smaczek (vibrance of flavour) · oc escòrça (outer skin of citrus) · pl zniewieściałość (state of being effeminate or a flamboyant homosexual) · uk цедра (outer skin of citrus) · pt gana (enthusiasm) · es pluma (state of being effeminate or a flamboyant homosexual) · oc pèl (outer skin of citrus) · ka ენთუზიაზმი (enthusiasm) · de Würze (outer skin of citrus) · mr जोम (enthusiasm)