n 1  :  a pungent aromatic rhizome produced by eastern Asian plants related to the true ginger and formerly used in medicine and cookery - called also galangal root   2  :  either of two plants of the ginger family that yield galangal  a  :  a Chinese perennial herb (Alpinia officinalis) with pyramidal racemes of rose-veined white flowers  b  :  a stemless perennial herb (Kaempferia galanga) of southeastern Asia with fragrant short-lived largely white flowers .
 
 
 
Similar sounding terms:  clin·i·cal  ga·len·i·cal 
 
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