truffle

Definition

Any of various edible fungi, of the genus Tuber, that grow in the soil in southern Europe; the earthnut.

Etymology

Borrowed from French trufle, a variant of truffe (whence also Danish and Norwegian trøffel, Swedish tryffel, German Trüffel), from Old Occitan trufa, a metathesis of Late Latin tufera (plural), from Latin tūber (“truffle”).

Example Sentences

• "In ancient times, the Romans imported truffles, credited with marked aphrodisiac virtue, from Libya as well as Greece."