trufflen.
/ˈtrʌfl/, U.S. /ˈtrəfəl/ 1.
a. The subterranean fruiting body or (rarely) sclerotium of any of various fungi of the genus Tuber and certain other genera of ascomycetes (or, rarely, other groups of fungi), typically having a rounded shape and a rough, usually dark or greyish exterior surface; esp. any of those valued as a delicacy in cooking, spec. the Perigord truffle, T. melanosporum, the white or Piedmont truffle, T. magnatum, and the summer truffle, T. aestivum. Also: any of the fungi producing such bodies. Frequently with distinguishing word.Truffles are mycorrhizal fungi found in association with the roots of certain types of tree, esp. oaks.black truffle, Perigord truffle, white truffle, etc.: see the first element.
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the world > food and drink > food > fruit and vegetables > vegetables > fungi > [noun] > truffle
truffle1591
truff1633
earthnutc1660
trub1668
oak-truffle1874
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > particular vegetables > [noun] > mushrooms or edible fungi > mushroom or truffle
mushroom1440
truffle1591
mison1601
misy1601
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > particular vegetables > [noun] > mushrooms or edible fungi > truffle or underground fungus
truffle1591
truff1633
earthnutc1660
trub1668
swine-bread1677
tuber1704
deer-ball1854
earth-ball1863
hart's-balls1866
hart's-truffle1866
Perigord truffle1869
oak-truffle1874
1591 F. Sparry tr. C. de Cattan Geomancie B2v The Topas and the Truffle [Fr. la Treufle], haue power of Chastity, and to subdue the flesh.
1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World II. xix. iii. 8 As touching the Truffles or Mushromes of Asia, the most excellent of all others be neare unto Lampsacum and Alopeconnesus.
c1660 J. Evelyn Diary anno 1644 (1955) II. 158 Here we..supp'd; having (amongst other dainties) a dish of Truffles, which is a certaine earth-nut, found out by an hogg, train'd up to it.
1692 J. Ray Wisdom of God (ed. 2) ii. 99 By tying a Cord to the hind leg of a Pig, and driving him before them..observing where he stops and begins to root,..they are sure to find a Trufle.
1726 J. Arbuthnot et al. It cannot rain but it Pours 10 A Dog is an Ass to him [sc. Peter the Wild Boy] for finding Troufles.
1742 A. Pope New Dunciad 550 Thy Treufles, Perigord! thy Hams, Bayonne!
1847 W. M. Thackeray Mrs. Perkins's Ball ⁋17 Such a quantity of goose-liver and truffles.
1866 J. Lindley & T. Moore Treasury Bot. II. (at cited word) Applied generally, the name Truffle (or Trubs) comprises all the Fungi which belong to the natural orders Hypogæi and Tuberacei.
1951 Gourmet May 71/2 Add 1 cup veal gravy, 1/4 cup pate de foie gras , and 1 large truffle, chopped, to the pan in which the filet was first roasted.
2012 Daily Tel. 12 Oct. 3/1 The secret is out: truffles are thriving in English woodlands.
b. figurative and in figurative context.
ΚΠ
1858 N.Y. Musical Rev. 29 May 167 Your scores are truffles preserved in music, oysters dissolved into melodies.
1897 Literature 20 Nov. 155/1 A thin, ancient-looking octavo..rooted up with other literary truffles.
1987 C. Ghigna in Eng. Jrnl. 76 81 Truffles are poems uprooted by the sow who squeals at you before she devours her find.
2007 National Post (Canada) (Nexis) 5 July a17 Rarest of all—the truffle of this underground of literary fungi—is the living allonym.
2. A type of confectionery, usually of a small rounded shape, made from a mixture of chocolate and cream, often flavoured with rum, coffee, etc., and covered with chocolate or powdered cocoa.
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the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > confections or sweetmeats > sweets > [noun] > a sweet > chocolate
jessamy-chocolate1697
milk chocolate1723
plain chocolate1737
chocolate drop1764
chocolate cream1851
chocolate1852
chocolate liqueur1864
chocolate button1865
choc1874
chocolate bar1875
choccy1885
langue de chat1897
black chocolate1902
soft centre1902
truffle1902
liqueur chocolate1904
bar1906
bark1910
chocolate coin1910
white chocolate1917
dark chocolate1930
Mars bar1932
Smarties1939
nutty1947
liqueur1965
1902 C. C. Huling Amer. Candy Maker 246 (heading) Chocolate Truffles.
1926–7 Army & Navy Stores Catal. 54/2 Chocolates..Truffles—lb. 4/3.
c1938 Fortnum & Mason Price List 8/1 Truffles, with fresh cream (perishable)..Truffles, Rum Flavoured.
1951 Good Housek. Home Encycl. 675/1 Turkish delight and marshmallows, chocolates and truffles.
1974 J. Stubbs Painted Face xiii. 168 [His] only acquaintance with truffles had been the chocolate variety.
1990 Confectionery Manuf. & Marketing Mar. 22/3 Their products include an extensive range of hand made chocolates and truffles.
2008 Time Out N.Y. 14 Feb. 63/2 You'll learn how to make truffles with raspberries, champagne, rum and raisin, spiced chocolate and other luscious ingredients.
Compounds
C1.
a. attributive, with the sense ‘made from or flavoured with truffles’ (sense 1a), as truffle butter, truffle pie, truffle sauce, etc.
ΚΠ
1702 J. K. tr. F. Massialot Court & Country Cook 262 (heading) A Truffle-pan-pie [Fr. Tourte de Truffles].
1776 B. Clermont tr. Professed Cook (ed. 3) 383 (heading) Mackerels broiled in Paper Cases, with Truffle Sauce [Fr. Caisses de Maquereaux aux Trufes].
1854 Southern Lit. Messenger Nov. 655/2 I gave you some sausages with truffle sauce.
1877 Manch. Guardian 8 Jan. 7/5 Venison pasty and truffle pie having become somewhat out of date.
1884 Washington Post 24 Dec. 7/6 Cut it [sc. bacon] and pound it until smooth; mix it with the truffle paste and season the whole with salt and pepper.
1902 S. T. Rorer New Cook Bk. 213 To make Truffle Stuffing, add four truffles washed and chopped very fine.
1965 Chron.-Telegram (Elyria, Ohio) 23 Jan. 19/6 The dish is then served in a ring of rice topped with truffle-butter.
2005 N.Y. Times Mag. 5 June 82/2 Truffle salt... Its aroma skews more closely to real truffle than any truffle oil, truffle butter or truffle honey I've come across.
b. attributive and objective.
truffle-gatherer n.
ΚΠ
1815 Sc. Mag. Oct. 728/1 Truffle-gatherers have often been accused of firing the woods with the view of bettering their harvest.
a1933 J. A. Thomson Biol. for Everyman (1934) II. 1086 The human nose is not generally sharp enough, and trained dogs and pigs are brought in to help the truffle-gatherer.
2002 Independent (Nexis) 20 July 8 Michel believes that a single gang is operating in France, dog-napping truffle-hounds and selling them to unscrupulous French truffle-gatherers.
truffle-grower n.
ΚΠ
1860 Sat. Evening Post (Philadelphia) 24 Nov. 2/5 The truffle-growers of Normandy would have been delighted by a few early frosts.
1912 Smart Set Apr. 25/1 The truffle growers keep a herd just to smell truffles out and root them up.
2007 Independent 15 Dec. 33/1 To find ways of protecting truffles, and truffle-growers, from dry, hot summers.
truffle hunter n.
ΚΠ
1770 G. White Jrnl. 29 June (1970) iii. 27 A pound of trufles were found by a trufle-hunter in my Brother's grove.
1826 Lancet 3 June 302/2 Would you turn truffle hunters?
1898 V. A. Davis Romance of Summer Seas xiii. 188 Your owners..will only feed you because you are a good truffle-hunter.
1990 High Life (Brit. Airways) Sept. 57/1 The fecund Piedmontese countryside south of Turin, whose medieval capital, Alba, is the truffle hunter's Mecca.
truffle hunting n.
ΚΠ
1820 A. D. Macquin Tabella Cibaria 61 The perfume of the truffle betrays the secret to dogs and pigs, trained for..truffle-hunting.
1885 F. Whymper in Girl's Own Paper Jan. 169/1 A hog trained to truffle-hunting is worth the equivalent of eight pounds sterling.
1964 Boys' Life July 67/2 Truffle hunting becomes a game as well as a source of income.
2007 G. Brennan Pig in Provence 102 Pigs are rarely used for truffle hunting in Provence today... Dogs are mostly preferred.
c. Instrumental.
truffle-scented adj.
ΚΠ
1889 Temple Bar Nov. 341 One old man..lived, like the peasants round about him in truffle-scented Perigord, on soup.
1960 N.Y. Times 8 Dec. 46/1 Italian peasants..place the truffle in the family rice bag and this furnishes them with truffle-scented rice all season.
2006 M. Hunter G'Day to Die xiii. 207 A great restaurant where they do a killer roast squab with parsley ravioli in truffle-scented sauce.
truffle-stuffed adj.
ΚΠ
1839 Times 29 Aug. 4/2 We admire astronomical science, but do not wish to see one of its professors gorging himself, almost to bursting, with truffle-stuffed turkies.
1905 Vogue 6 Apr. 476/3 Truffle Stuffed Squabs.
2012 M. Lovelace Paternity Promise 126 They consumed truffle-stuffed breast of capon and julienne carrots.
C2. † truffle-worm n. Obsolete rare any of various insect larvae which infest truffles; esp. a larva of a truffle beetle or truffle fly.
truffle bed n. an area of land, often containing oak trees, where truffles are found or cultivated.
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the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > cultivation of plants or crops > cultivation of specific crops > [noun] > mushrooms > mushroom- or truffle-bed
mushroom bed1725
truffle bed1726
trufflery1726
1726 R. Bradley App. New Improvem. Planting & Gardening 38 No Herb or Plant is ever seen to grow upon a Trufflery or Truffle-Bed.
1885 F. Whymper in Girl's Own Paper Jan. 169/1 A trained hog, when it has discovered a truffle bed, is immovable.
2008 Econ. Bot. 62 332/1 Unskilled collectors may have also contributed to the destruction of existing truffle beds.
truffle beetle n. a small, reddish-brown, European fungus beetle, Leiodes cinnamomea (family Leiodidae), whose larvae feed upon truffles; (also) any of various other beetles of the genus Leiodes (rare).
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the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Coleoptera or beetles and weevils > [noun] > Polyphaga (omnivorous) > superfamily Staphylinoidea > family Silphidae > member of genus Anisotomides (truffle-beetle)
truffle beetle1829
truffle fly1856
1829 J. Curtis Brit. Entomol. VI. No. 251 (heading) Leiodes Cinnamomea. The Truffle Beetle.
1955 Coleopterists' Bull. 9 85 The earlier the shadows fall, the earlier the ‘truffle-beetles’ appear.
2003 Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata 109 147 The truffle beetle..inflicts substantial damage to the ripe stage of fruiting bodies of the economically important black truffle.
truffle dog n. a dog trained to discover truffles; also figurative.
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the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > family Canidae > dogs used for specific purposes > [noun] > miscellaneous types of
dancer1576
truffle dog1760
truffler1783
truffle hound1796
pack dog1844
war-dog1852
dog soldier1869
guide dog1932
sniffer dog1964
emotional support dog1993
the mind > attention and judgement > enquiry > investigation, inspection > secret observation, spying > [noun] > snooping, prying > one who pries
spaniel1562
wormera1607
truffle dog1760
snooper1889
snoop1891
1760 Public Advertiser 6 Feb. An extraordinary good Truffle Dog of the French Breed, well broken, and never touches upon any So[r]t of Game.
1874 L. Carr Judith Gwynne I. iv. 114 As a truffle-dog noses out the dainty objects of his search.
1899 E. E. Hale J. R. Lowell xiv. 254 The reader is not necessarily an authority in language. He is a scout or truffle-dog who brings the result of his exploration to the authorities.
2005 Grow your Own Dec. 18/2 To harvest, either borrow a truffle dog or carefully dig around the fibrous outer roots with fingers and a stick.
truffle fly n. †(a) a fly believed to produce a truffle as a kind of gall (obsolete); (b) any of various European flies of the genus Heleomyza (or Suillia) ( family Heleomyzidae), which have larvae that feed on truffles and which can be used as an indicator of the presence of truffles; (c) = truffle beetle n. (now rare).
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the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Coleoptera or beetles and weevils > [noun] > Polyphaga (omnivorous) > superfamily Staphylinoidea > family Silphidae > member of genus Anisotomides (truffle-beetle)
truffle beetle1829
truffle fly1856
1856 Gardeners' Chron. 1 Nov. 724/1 That there exists a sort of fly, or Tipula, which should be called a Truffle Fly, in the same way as there is a fly called the gall insect.
1869 Pharm. Jrnl. & Trans. 10 29 No sooner, therefore, did the hunters notice a dozen of these truffle-flies brooding over a particular spot, than they immediately set to work to dig the tubers out.
1925 R. T. Rolfe & F. W. Rolfe Romance Fungus World x. 217 In another method [of truffle-hunting] also used , the aid of the diminutive truffle-fly is invoked. This is Anisotoma cinnamomea.
1961 R. Singer Mushrooms & Truffles x. 213 The truffle flies, for example Helomyza tuberivora, and about a dozen other flies which feed on Tuber melansporum, have not been studied enough.
2010 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 29 Mar. a11/6 Truffles can often be detected by looking for congregations of truffle flies.
truffle ground n. = truffle bed n.; cf. truffière n.
ΚΠ
1815 Sc. Mag. Oct. 728/1 Turning them [sc. pigs] into the truffle-grounds, they watch their beginning to root keenly.
1911 A. Ward Grocer's Encycl. 648 Truffles so freely absorb the nutriment of the soil that nothing except the trees which give them shade is able to grow in the vicinity, so one recognizes a Truffière or Truffle-ground by its bare and generally somewhat cracked surface.
2005 Herald Sun (Melbourne) (Nexis) 20 Sept. 27 Drought has brought a crisis to the truffle grounds of France, sending prices sky high.
truffle hound n. [after German Trüffelhund (1743)] = truffle dog n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > family Canidae > dogs used for specific purposes > [noun] > miscellaneous types of
dancer1576
truffle dog1760
truffler1783
truffle hound1796
pack dog1844
war-dog1852
dog soldier1869
guide dog1932
sniffer dog1964
emotional support dog1993
1796 T. Holcroft tr. F. L. Stolberg Trav. I. xxxi. 205 The truffle hound was first brought to Germany from Piedmont [Ger. Aus Piemont haben wir in Deutschland die Trüffelhunde zuerst bekommen].
1871 Melbourne Punch 19 Jan. 17/2 There was a peasant lad in the district with a nose that distanced any truffle hound in the country.
1975 J. Grigson Mushroom Feast 134 There is the whole business of truffle pigs and truffle hounds.
2003 Daily Tel. 9 Dec. 22/1 We were only half an hour late and she set off like a truffle-hound.
truffle oil n. oil flavoured with truffles, used in cooking.
ΚΠ
1837 Gardener's Mag. 3 403 They [sc. artificial truffles] are prepared from strong-smelling cheese and fresh bread,..to which is added a little of what is called truffle oil.
1986 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 16 Apr. c9/1 Truffle oil should be on the market soon.
2012 P. Foster Abbey Cooks Entertain 138 There is nothing like the earthy smell and taste of a stinky bog (in a good way) which truffle oil provides.
truffle pig n. a pig trained to discover truffles.
ΚΠ
1865 Chambers's Jrnl. 15 July 434/1 As though it were the business of the truffle-pigs to grunt applause, and that of the bon vivants to dig up the truffles.
1922 Motor Land Apr. 21/2 Hast never seen the precious and perfect truffle pigs—the black ones—rooting among the forests of Perigord?
1999 Wallpaper Nov. 164/2 To find anything of interest, you either have to rootle around like a Modernist truffle pig or stumble across it by accident.
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the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > eggs or young > [noun] > young or development of young > larva
niteOE
wormOE
grubc1420
canker1440
caterpillarc1440
cankerworm1530
mad1573
bug1594
blote1657
vermicle1657
hexapod1668
grub-worm1752
truffle-worm1753
larva1768
larve1822
1753 Chambers's Cycl. Suppl. Truffle-worms,..a species of fly-worm which is found in Truffles.
1843 Penny Cycl. XXV. 329/1 The truffle is subject to the attacks of many insects: a species of Leiodes deposits its ova in it, which in the pupa state feed upon the substance of the truffle; in this they are called truffle-worms.
Derivatives
ˈtruffle-like adj.
ΚΠ
1838 J. C. Loudon Arboretum et Fruticetum Britannicum IV. 2552 A truffle-like fungus, on the roots.
1898 P. Manson Trop. Dis. xxxvii. 573 Moulded into truffle-like masses.
1967 E. Marx Bedouin of Negev i. 27 The monotonous diet is relieved by..some wild-growing vegetables, such as..kima (truffle-like mushrooms).
2006 Time Out N.Y. 10 Aug. 34/3 Quesadillas feature papaya and huitlacoche, a truffle-like corn fungus.
ˈtrufflery n. rare = truffle bed n. at Compounds 2.
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the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > cultivation of plants or crops > cultivation of specific crops > [noun] > mushrooms > mushroom- or truffle-bed
mushroom bed1725
truffle bed1726
trufflery1726
1726 R. Bradley App. New Improvem. Planting & Gardening 38 No Herb or Plant is ever seen to grow upon a Trufflery or Truffle-Bed.
1993 Sunday Tasmanian (Nexis) 17 Oct. There were plans to set up a trufflery.
2007 A. M. Nixon Bush Aussies 94 She was supplied with a dog, a springer spaniel called Tiny, and together they work each season in the truffleries of Tasmania.
truffˈlesque adj. resembling or suggestive of a truffle (literal and figurative).
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the world > physical sensation > taste and flavour > [adjective] > having taste
savoureda1398
gusted1535
verdured1541
smoky1542
relished1567
sapient1599
tasted1604
sapid1634
gustable1657
saporousa1670
palated1671
tremulous1675
saltly1736
garlicky1775
slaty1824
trufflesque1841
pepperminty1854
flavoured1867
tasting1907
tomatoey1909
the world > food and drink > food > fruit and vegetables > vegetables > fungi > [adjective] > truffle
trufflesque1841
1841 W. M. Thackeray Memorials Gormandising in Fraser's Mag. June 716/2 A trufflesque odour was left in the room.
1991 N.Y. Mag. 7 Oct. 82/3 Best are mulled blueberries with ice cream,..and a fudgy, trufflesque chocolate torte.
2014 B. Fink Purloined Love xlv. 231 I see that you are reading one of the trufflesque fruits of my labors in the southwest of France.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2015; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
trufflev.
/ˈtrʌfl/, U.S. /ˈtrəfəl/ 1. transitive. Cookery. Frequently in passive. To stuff or lard (meat, esp. poultry) with truffles or a truffle mixture prior to cooking. Also figurative: to pervade; to intersperse with something, esp. in order to add interest or embellishment.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > preparation for table or cooking > stuffing > stuff [verb (transitive)]
to stop full1342
farcea1400
force?a1400
stuffc1430
marinate1722
bombard1747
truffle1868
1868 ‘E. S. Delamere’ & ‘E. J. Delamere’ Wholesome Fare iv. 74 By stuffing a fowl over-night..the flavour of the stuffing will have time to penetrate the flesh. Turkeys are truffled days before they are wanted.
1874 Calcutta Rev. 58 363 The opinion condensed by Dr. Oldham into emphasis, and truffled with italics, was expressed by Mr. Duncan with all that caution of verbiage characteristic of him.
1879 London Society June 555/2 A turkey may be truffled economically, thus: For a small bird, take a quarter..of a pound of truffles [etc.].
1949 M. F. K. Fisher tr. J. A. Brillat-Savarin Physiol. of Taste vi. 82 Poultry, pheasants, chickens and partridges, truffled in the same way.
1969 J. Fowles in S. Baring-Gould Mehalah Introd. p. viii His Reminiscences are truffled all through with characterizing anecdotes and telling similes.
1998 J. M. Pilcher Que Vivan Los Tamales! iii. 61 Cooks in wealthy homes had to learn the art of truffling a turkey.
2. intransitive. To hunt or root about for truffles, nuts, etc. Also with for. Frequently figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > endeavour > searching or seeking > make a search [verb (intransitive)] > search (as) for truffles
truffle1949
1949 J. F. Dobie Voice of Coyote v. 115 There coyotes dig out the planted nuts... Later they truffle for the new crop.
1958 Observer 4 May 2/11 In New York truffling for forgotten ephemera, my quest took me to vaults in Manhattan.
1981 Times 23 July 12/8 This book is worth reading... You can truffle happily among the errors and the fantasy.
1984 Times 14 Jan. 11/1 Pannage to let their pigs into the wood to truffle for acorns or beechmast on the ground.
1991 Observer 4 Aug. 17/6 Swedes almost truffle for grief and inevitably find it.
2011 B. Falkner Northwood 198 All of the pigs were wearing muzzles. ‘They're truffling,’ Evan said. ‘That's one of our biggest crops.’
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2015; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1591
v.1868