relish

re·lish/ˈɹɛlɪʃ/noun, verb

relish is a noun meaning “Enjoyment of flavour or taste; (countable) an instance of this” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). It is spelled R-E-L-I-S-H and has 2 syllables (re·lish), and it appears 2.1 times per million words in written English (wordfreq, 2021 data). The plural of relish is relishes.

What does relish mean?

noun

1
obsoleteFlavour or taste; (countable) an instance of this.
2
obsoleteFollowed by for: one's liking or taste for something; a fondness.
I have a relish for moderate praise, because it bids fair to be judicious.
3
obsoleteA small amount; a tinge, a trace.
4
obsoleteAbility to taste or (figurative) enjoy.
5
obsoleteParticular quality; (countable) an instance of this; a characteristic or quality.
6
Enjoyment of flavour or taste; (countable) an instance of this.
7
Enjoyment of something pleasant; (countable) an instance of this.
8
archaicAppetizing or pleasant flavour or taste; (countable) an instance of this.
9
obsoleteA projecting component.
10
In a wooden frame: the projection or shoulder around, or at the side of, a tenon (“projecting member made to insert into a mortise”), used to strengthen a mortise-and-tenon joint.
11
A type of ornamentation comprising one or more trills.

verb

1
To give (something) (a pleasant) flavour or taste; to make appetizing.
2
To take delight or pleasure in (someone or oneself, or something).
He relishes their time together.
3
obsoleteTo eat or taste (drink, food, etc.).
4
obsoleteTo provide (someone, or their appetite, mouth, stomach, etc.) with something appetizing or tasty.
5
obsoleteTo appreciate or understand (something).
6
obsoleteTo experience (something); also (rare), to feel (something).
7
obsoleteTo have a particular opinion about (someone or something); to receive, to regard.
8
obsoleteTo have a tinge or trace of (something).
9
To add one or more relishes (noun etymology 2, noun sense 2) to (a tenon, piece of wood, etc.).
10
obsoleteTo sing (a song or tune); specifically, in a manner where there are tremulous changes of tone; to trill, to warble.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

How do you pronounce relish?

US /ˈɹɛlɪʃ/
/ˈɹɛlɪʃ/
[ˈɹælɪʃ]

Relish has 2 syllables, split re·lish in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-relish.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Forms of relish

relishes plural, present, singular, he/she/it
rellish
relishing participle, present
relished participle, past, singular, he/she/it, plural

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

How common is relish?

Relish appears 2.1 times per million words in written English, the 19,077th most frequent word form in the list.

relish0.0010.010.11101001,00010,000

rarerper million words of written Englishmore common

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

Relish in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

Language	Words
German	Aroma, Genuß, Geschmack (appetizing or pleasant flavour or taste; an…), Qualität, Eigenart (pleasant quality; an instance of this), aromatisieren ((transitive) to give (something) (a pleasant)…)
Portuguese	gosto (appetizing or pleasant flavour or taste; an…), iguaria (pleasant quality; an instance of this), compota (condiment or sauce added to food for a spicy or…)
French	parfumer ((transitive) to give (something) (a pleasant)…), relish (condiment or sauce added to food for a spicy or…)
Spanish	salsa / condimento de pepinillos (condiment or sauce added to food for a spicy or…), saborear ((transitive) to take delight or pleasure in…)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.