mayonnaise

Etymology

Borrowed from French mayonnaise, possibly named after the city Maó (Mahón in Spanish), Minorca, whence the recipe was brought back to France. Compare Spanish mahonesa. Alternative suggested origins include the city of Bayonne (bayonnaise); the French word manier (“to handle”); the Old French moyeu (“egg yolk”); and the Duke of Mayenne.

noun

1. A dressing made from vegetable oil, raw egg yolks, vinegar or lemon juice, and seasoning, used on salads, with french fries, in sandwiches etc.
   There are 250 foods, including mayonnaise, cheese and cocoa, that don't list ingredients at all. 1985 May, Boys' Life, volume 75, number 5, page 20
   The FDA's original intent for foods included under "standards of identity" ensured that terms like "mayonnaise" or "ice cream” would guarantee the same basic ingredients required in the government-established recipe no matter who manufactured it. 1975, Irma S. Rombauer, Marion Rombauer Becker, Joy of Cooking, page 7
   I grew up thinking that the blue and white Miracle Whip salad dressing jar in the fridge held the same substance the rest of the world knew as mayonnaise. / Now I know that mayonnaise is something entirely different. 1993, Eve Johnson, Five Star Food
   The oils in store-bought mayonnaise range from olive oil to sunflower oil to safflower oil and some less desirable oils! 2008, Jan McCracken, The Everything Lactose Free Cookbook
   Most store-bought mayonnaise contains ingredients (vinegar, lemonjuice, and salt) that actually slow bacterial growth 2012, Marie A. Boyle, Sara Long Roth, Personal Nutrition
2. Any cold dish with that dressing as an ingredient.
   We served a lobster mayonnaise as a starter.
3. Any cream, for example for moisturizing the face or conditioning the hair, for which the base is egg yolks and oil.
   hair mayonnaise
   facial mayonnaise
   They include cider vinegar, two pre-shampoo products, shampoo, conditioner, hair mayonnaise, oil, leave-in conditioner, end protector, revitalising styling spray and filtered water. 2016, Emma Tarlo, Entanglement: The Secret Lives of Hair, Oneworld Publications
   Then I implemented a lighter protein conditioner – such as hair mayonnaise, which I learned about from my cousin Renee – for the off weeks. I used this hidden gem in combination with olive oil (yes, I bought a kitchen bottle of olive oil – the same kind my grandmother used in every single delicious dish she ever cooked – strictly for use in my hair). 2010, Rhea E. Santangelo, Grow It Girl! How I Took My Hair from Broken to Beautiful, Lulu.com, page 26

verb

1. (transitive) To cover or season with mayonnaise.
   Jones himself presided in the kitchen, mincing truffles, mayonnaising lobster, booting waiters out the door with tray after tray of steaming savories and teeth-numbing sweets, […] 1998, Trace Farrell, The Ruins, page 153
   I thought of mayonnaising her racket handle or substituting it for sunblock, but decided against it. 2009, David Galef, How to Cope With Suburban Stress