# garlic

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈɡɑːlɪk/ · frequency rank #8,039

## Definitions
1. A plant, Allium sativum, related to the onion, having a pungent bulb much used in cooking.
2. A preparation from Allium sativum used as a food ingredient or the flavor or other characteristics of such an ingredient.

## Etymology
Inherited from Middle English garlek, garlik, from Old English gārlēac (“garlic”, literally “spear-leek”), from gār ("spear"; in reference to its sharp, tapering leaves) + lēac (“leek”). Cognate with Scots garlic (“garlic”), Faroese geirleykur (“garlic”), Icelandic geirlaukur (“garlic”).

## Easily confused with
- **girlie** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/garlic-vs-girlie)
- **Garrick** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/garlic-vs-garrick)
- **Garcia** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/garcia-vs-garlic)
- **Gaelic** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gaelic-vs-garlic)
- **Gallic** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gallic-vs-garlic)

## Common misspellings (9)
`agrlic`, `galric`, `garilc`, `garlci`, `garlicc`, `garllic`, `garrlic`, `ggarlic`, `gralic`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/garlic