rel·ish / ˈrelish/ • n. 1. great enjoyment: she swigged a mouthful of wine with relish. ∎  liking for or pleasurable anticipation of something: I was appointed to a position for which I had little relish.2. a condiment eaten with plain food to add flavor: use salsa as a relish with grilled meat or fish. ∎  chopped sweet pickles used as such a condiment: we could have as many hot dogs as we wanted, smothered in mustard and relish.3. archaic an appetizing flavor. ∎  a distinctive taste or tinge: the relish of wine. ∎  an attractive quality.• v. [tr.] 1. enjoy greatly: he was relishing his moment of glory. ∎  be pleased by or about: I don't relish the thought of waiting on an invalid for the next few months.2. archaic make pleasant to the taste; add relish to: I have also a novel to relish my wine.DERIVATIVES: re·lish·a·ble adj.ORIGIN: Middle English: alteration of obsolete reles, from Old French, ‘remainder,’ from relaisser ‘to release.’ The early noun sense was ‘odor, taste,’ giving rise to ‘appetizing flavor, piquant taste’ (mid 17th cent.), and hence sense 2 (late 18th cent.).

relish taste, flavour XVI; appetizing taste; liking, zest XVII. Later form of ME. reles taste (XIV), corr. formally to OF. reles, var. of relais remainder, f. relaisser leave behind, RELEASE, but the senses of the Eng. word are not recorded in OF.
Hence relish vb. give a relish to; have a taste for XVI; have a certain taste XVII.

relish Culinary term for any spicy or piquant preparation used to enhance flavour of plain food. In the UK, a thin pickle or sauce with a vinegar base; in the USA it includes finely chopped fruit or vegetables with a dressing of salt, sugar, and vinegar, sometimes eaten as a first course (termed apple, garden, or salad relish). See also Gentleman's relish.