zest meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

zest

noun

/zɛst/

Etymology Borrowed from French zeste.

The outer skin of a citrus fruit, used as a flavouring or garnish.

General vibrance of flavour.

I add zest to the meat by rubbing it with a spice mixture before grilling.
He rolled his own cigarettes from a sack of Bull Durham, spilling flakes into his beer, which no doubt gained in zest thereby.1959, Peter De Vries, The Tents of Wickedness, Boston: Little, Brown & Co., The Treehouse, Chapter 7, page 92:

1 more example

Bashele’s dishes tasted as good as they had when I was a child. No one could give to the borscht such a sweet-and-sour zest as Bashele.1978, Isaac Bashevis Singer, translated by Joseph Singer et al., Shosha, New York: Fawcett Crest, Part One, Chapter Five, 1, p. 99:

Broadly Enthusiasm; keen enjoyment; exciting and interesting; relish or gusto; a state of being zesty.

Auntie Mame had a real zest for life.
1728, Edward Young, Love of Fame, the Universal Passion, Satire II in The Works of the Reverend Edward Young, London: P. Brown, H. Hill & S. Payne, 1765, Volume I, p. 85, Almighty vanity! to thee they owe Their zest of pleasure, and their balm of woe.

4 more examples

1807, Thomas Cogan, An Ethical Treatise on the Passions, Bath: Hazard & Binns, Part 1, Disquisition 1, Chapter 1, Section 1 “On the utility of the Passions and Affections,” p. 51, Liberality of disposition and conduct gives the highest zest and relish to social intercourse.
And never did Isabella relieve a suffering fellow-creature, or assist a beloved sister, without blessing the dear, distant one that had made her rich, and kissing her sweet boy with new zest, as the son of his father.1842, [anonymous collaborator of Letitia Elizabeth Landon], chapter XXXIV, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 139:
Once started, Mrs. Bolton was better than any book, about the lives of the people. She knew them all so intimately, and had such a peculiar, flamey zest in all their affairs, it was wonderful, if just a trifle humiliating to listen to her.1928, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, chapter 9, in Lady Chatterley’s Lover, Gutenberg edition, [Florence, Italy]: [ […] Tipografia Giuntina, […]], →OCLC; republished as Lady Chatterley’s Lover (eBook no. 0100181h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg Australia, August 2011, archived from the original on 11 Nov 2020:
The singers, male and female, wore blue jeans and long hair and had more zest than talent.1962, James Baldwin, Another Country, New York: Dell, published 1963, Book Two, Chapter 2, p. 221:

Rare The woody, thick skin enclosing the kernel of a walnut.

The green zest of walnuts was used by the women to shine their teeth and it also gave a beautiful rust colour to their lips.2006, N. J. Nusha, On the Edge (Short Stories), Lahore: Sang-e-Meel Publications, page 85:

Derogatory, Slang State of being a flamboyant or effeminate homosexual.

Synonyms: gusto, relish, punch, spice, tang, zing
Derived terms: zest fest, zestful, zestfully, zestily, zestiness, zestless, zestlessly, zestlessness, zesty

verb

Etymology Borrowed from French zeste.

Cooking, Food, Lifestyle To scrape the zest from a fruit.

To make more zesty.

Strains ſo artleſs tho’ we proffer, Hearts o’er flowing zest the offer.1792, James Cobb, The Siege of Belgrade, a Comic Opera, in Three Acts, page 47: