Adjacent Words

Truffle definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

TRUF'FLE, n. A subterraneous vegetable production, or a kind of mushroom, of a fleshy fungous structure and roundish figure; an esculent substance, much esteemed. It is of the genus Tuber.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: any of various highly prized edible subterranean fungi of the genus Tuber; grow naturally in southwestern Europe [syn: truffle, earthnut, earth-ball]
2: edible subterranean fungus of the genus Tuber [syn: truffle, earthnut]
3: creamy chocolate candy [syn: truffle, chocolate truffle]

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: modification of Middle French truffe, from Old Occitan trufa, from Vulgar Latin *tufera; akin to Latin tuber swelling, truffle — more at tuber Date: 1591 1. a. the dark or light edible subterranean fruiting body of several European ascomycetous fungi (especially genus Tuber); also any of various similar fruiting bodies of related fungi b. a fungus that produces truffles 2. a candy made of chocolate, butter, sugar, and sometimes liqueur shaped into balls and often coated with cocoa

Britannica Concise

Edible, underground fungus in the genus Tuber (class Ascomycetes, division Mycota), prized as a food delicacy since antiquity. Native mainly to temperate regions, truffles flourish in open woodlands on calcium-rich soil. The different species range from pea-sized to orange-sized. Truffles usually are associated with tree roots and are found up to about 1 ft (30 cm) below the soil surface. Experienced gatherers occasionally detect mature truffles by scent or by the morning and evening presence of hovering columns of small yellow flies, but more often with the help of trained pigs or dogs. The truffle is important in French cookery, and truffle gathering is an important industry in France. Truffles are among the most highly valued foods in the world. False truffles (genus Rhizopogon) form small, underground, potato-like structures under coniferous trees in parts of N. America.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 any strong-smelling underground fungus of the order Tuberales, used as a culinary delicacy and found esp. in France by trained dogs or pigs. 2 a usu. round sweet made of chocolate mixture covered with cocoa etc. Etymology: prob. f. Du. truffel f. obs. F truffle ult. f. L tubera pl. of TUBER

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Truffle Truf"fle (?; 277), n. [OF. trufle, F. truffe; akin to Sp. trufa, tartufo; of uncertain origin; perhaps from L. tuber a tumor, knob, truffle. Cf. Tuber, Trifle.] Any one of several kinds of roundish, subterranean fungi, usually of a blackish color. The French truffle (Tuber melanosporum) and the English truffle (T. [ae]stivum) are much esteemed as articles of food. Truffle worm (Zo["o]l.), the larva of a fly of the genus Leiodes, injurious to truffles.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(truffles) 1. A truffle is a soft round sweet made with chocolate and usually flavoured with rum. N-COUNT 2. A truffle is a round type of fungus which is expensive and considered very good to eat. N-COUNT