Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Garnish \Gar"nish\, n.
   1. Something added for embellishment; decoration; ornament;
      also, dress; garments, especially such as are showy or
      decorated.

            So are you, sweet, Even in the lovely garnish of a
            boy.                                  --Shak.

            Matter and figure they produce; For garnish this,
            and that for use.                     --Prior.

   2. (Cookery) Something set round or upon a dish as an
      embellishment. See {Garnish}, v. t., 2. --Smart.

   3. Fetters. [Cant]

   4. A fee; specifically, in English jails, formerly an
      unauthorized fee demanded by the old prisoners of a
      newcomer. [Cant] --Fielding.

   {Garnish bolt} (Carp.), a bolt with a chamfered or faceted
      head. --Knight.

Garnish \Gar"nish\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Garnished}; p. pr. &
   vb. n. {Garnishing}.] [OE. garnischen, garnissen, OF. garnir
   to provide, strengthen, prepare, garnish, warn, F. garnir to
   provide, furnish, garnish, -- of German origin; cf. OHG.
   warn[=o]n to provide, equip; akin to G. wahren to watch, E.
   aware, ware, wary, and cf. also E. warn. See {Wary}, {-ish},
   and cf. {Garment}, {Garrison}.]
   1. To decorate with ornamental appendages; to set off; to
      adorn; to embellish.

            All within with flowers was garnished. --Spenser.

   2. (Cookery) To ornament, as a dish, with something laid
      about it; as, a dish garnished with parsley.

   3. To furnish; to supply.

   4. To fit with fetters. [Cant] --Johnson.

   5. (Law) To warn by garnishment; to give notice to; to
      garnishee. See {Garnishee}, v. t. --Cowell.

Source : WordNet®

garnish
     n 1: something (such as parsley) added to a dish for flavor or
          decoration
     2: any decoration added as a trimming or adornment
     v 1: take a debtor's wages on legal orders, such as for child
          support; "His employer garnished his wages in order to
          pay his debt" [syn: {garnishee}]
     2: decorate (food), as with parsley or other ornamental foods
        [syn: {trim}, {dress}]