What's the origin of the word "gingerly"?

Search: gingerly etymology

Why: It's in just about every book ever, but I don't understand it. In The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo:

Then, gingerly, she picked up the blowtorch.

I mean, what? I don't even know what that's supposed to mean.

Also, I just had some ginger dressing. I eat it a lot, but it always reminds me of Heather Chandler's Drano-corn nuts puke in Heathers.

Answer: First, that word means: adj. careful, cautious or adv. cautiously, with great care!

It comes from a word that means "elegant" or "dainty"!

• from Latin gentius, "well-born" (as in gentle, as in gentleman)
  
• from gent or Old French gensor, "dainty, delicate"
• 1510s, "elegantly, daintily"
• 1600, "extremely cautiously
  

I think you know what's coming next: that the word ginger has nothing to do with that.

• from Sanskrit srngam, "horn" + vera, "body" = srngaveram, named for the horny shape of its root

• from Prakit (Middle Indic) singabera
• from Greek zingiberis
• from Latin zingiberi
• from Middle Latin gingiber
• from mid-14 century Old English gingifer
• ginger!
  

Source: EtymOnline

The More You Know: Or!

• from Malayalam inchi, "root" and inchi-ver, "spice"
• from Old French gingebre
• from 1843 American English, "spirit, spunk, temper"