Meaning

noun bulbous herb of southern Europe widely naturalized; bulb breaks up into separate strong-flavored cloves

noun aromatic bulb used as seasoning

originInherited from Middle English garlek, garlik, from Old English gārlēac (“garlic”, literally “spear-leek”), from gār ("spear"; in reference to its sharp, tapering leaves) + lēac (“leek”). Cognate with Scots garlic (“garlic”), Faroese geirleykur (“garlic”), Icelandic geirlaukur (“garlic”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0