Mustard and mustered are commonly confused words that are pronounced in the same way but are spelled differently and have different meanings, which makes them homophones. We will examine the different meanings of the homophonic words mustard and mustered, the word origins of the terms, and some examples of their English usage in sentences.
Mustard is a yellow condiment that is made from mustard seeds, vinegar, and spices. Mustard is also the plant that produces the seeds that are turned into the condiment, mustard. Mustard comes in many flavors and may be bright yellow to brown, depending on the spices used. Some of the more popular types of mustard are yellow, Grey Poupon, Dijon, spicy brown, honey, whole grain, beer, and hot. Mustard is served on sausages and hot dogs, pretzels, salads, and eggs, and it is used in marinades. A new trend is to serve mustard with watermelon. The word mustard is derived from the Old French word, mostarde, which is the name of the plant that produces the mustard seeds.
Mustered is the past tense of muster, which means to assemble a group of men for a variety of reasons, including inspection. Muster also means to gather or collect something. The word muster is derived from the Old French word mostrer, which means to show or reveal.
Examples
In partnership with New England-based Piantedosi Baking Company, French’s is rolling out limited edition mustard buns, with the Classic Yellow Mustard baked right in. (USA Today)
Others welcomed the new machines, even if the globs they delivered at the wave of a hand sometimes slathered hot dogs with ruinous puddles rather than delicate drizzles of mustard. (Seattle Times)
They were mustered in at Camp Fuller in Rockford on Sept. 5, 1862. (Daily Herald)
The court mustered a bare 5-4 majority last month, to allow the eviction ban to continue through the end of July. (Mercury News)