vanilla meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

vanilla

noun

/vəˈnɪl.ə/ · /vəˈnɛl.ə/

Etymology Borrowed from Spanish vainilla, a diminutive form of vaina (“pod”). "Plain" senses derive from the perceived plainness of vanilla ice cream.

9 senses

1Any tropical climbing orchid of the genus Vanilla…
2The fruit or bean of the vanilla plant.
3The extract of the fruit of the vanilla plant.
4The distinctive fragrant flavour/flavor characteristic…
5Any artificially produced homologue of vanilla extract…
6Someone who is not into fetishism.
7An unmodded version of a game.
8A yellowish-white colour, like that of vanilla ice cream.
9A white person.

Any tropical climbing orchid of the genus Vanilla (especially Vanilla planifolia), bearing podlike fruit yielding an extract used in flavoring food or in perfumes.

Vanilla itself was transplanted from Madagascar, the main source of the spice, to Polynesia a century ago.1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page 242:

The fruit or bean of the vanilla plant.

The extract of the fruit of the vanilla plant.

The distinctive fragrant flavour/flavor characteristic of vanilla extract.

Any artificially produced homologue of vanilla extract, principally vanillin produced from lignin from the paper industry or from petrochemicals.

Lifestyle, Sexuality Slang Someone who is not into fetishism.

Games, Gaming Slang An unmodded version of a game.

A yellowish-white colour, like that of vanilla ice cream.

Derogatory, Ethnic, Slur A white person.

Derived terms: banilla, Cuban vanilla, imitation vanilla, nonvanilla, plain vanilla, vanilla bean, vanilla essence, vanilla extract, vanillafy, vanilla grass, vanilla leaf, vanillaness, vanillar, vanilla slice, vanilla submarine, vanilla wafer, vanilla-y, vanillery
Related terms: flavour extract

vanilla

adj

Etymology Borrowed from Spanish vainilla, a diminutive form of vaina (“pod”). "Plain" senses derive from the perceived plainness of vanilla ice cream.

Usually, Of flavor Of vanilla.

A mass of folders and binders. One, vanilla in colour, catches her eye.2004, David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas, London: Sceptre (Hodder and Stoughton), →ISBN:

Computing, Engineering, Mathematics, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Sciences Colloquial, Retronym Standard, plain, default, unmodified, basic.

vanilla JavaScript
BBCFiles is a BBC file converter that converts between some of the various types of files used by BBC emulators on Acorn & PC formats. It supports 6502Em style applications & scripts, /ssd dfs disc images (supporting watford double catalogue), vanilla directories, /zip of bbc files with /inf files (with limitations) and directory of bbc files with /inf files.2001, Michael Foot, “BeebIt 0.32 and BBCFiles 0.29 released”, in comp.sys.acorn.announce (Usenet):

Lifestyle, Sexuality Not kinky, not involving BDSM.

An uncharacteristically vanilla threesome and non-cute realist rendering - derived paradoxically from tracing drawings rather than photographs.2006, Felix Lance Falkon, Gay Art: A Historic Collection, →ISBN, page 136:
While Dominick was more of a vanilla kind of a guy himself, he wasn't a total dunce when it came to the kinkier sides of things.2010, Chloe Stowe, Hard Water, →ISBN, page 37:

1 more example

Sebastian could never do that, be in a marriage with a vanilla woman.2014, Christina Thacher, The Negotiation: A BDSM Romance, →ISBN:

Plain; conventional; unimaginative.

The further right or left you go, the more likely you are to eventually come around to hating Jews. On the left, this is plain to see. From the Corbyn-era trend to attack Israel for all the world's sins, to the self-hating asaJews that tweeted enthusiastically about October 7 being a 'day of celebration' to previously vanilla comedian Reginald Hunter retweeting posts about the evils of the Talmud.2024 August 19, Josh Kaplan, “Why are Jews expected to put up with rampant social media antisemitism?”, in The Jewish Chronicle, London: Jewish Chronicle Media Limited, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 22 Oct 2025:

Synonyms: vanillar
Related terms: vanillin, jellybean