primavera
/ˌpriːməˈvɛːrə
/noun [mass noun]
The hard, light-coloured timber of a Central American tree.
- The tree is Cybistax donnellsmithii, family Bignoniaceae.
- Deep in the rain forests of Central America, lumberjacks hew the primavera tree in the dark of a moonless night.
- The primavera's sap rises and falls, not with the seasons, but with the phases of moon.
adjective [postpositive]
(Of a pasta dish) made with lightly sautéed spring vegetables: linguine primavera...
- And I cannot see the point of using green peas in a risotto unless they are fresh, for example in a seasonal Italian primavera treatment.
- One of my friends volunteered to make fettuccine primavera.
- A main course of cannelloni in rosé sauce with risotto primavera was curiously served together in a bowl rather than on a plate.
Origin
Late 19th century: from Spanish, denoting the season of spring, from Latin primus 'first, earliest' + ver 'spring' (alluding to the tree's early flowering).