vegetable

vegetable
{{11}}vegetable (adj.) c.1400, "living and growing as a plant," from O.Fr. vegetable "living, fit to live," from M.L. vegetabilis "growing, flourishing," from L.L. vegetabilis "animating, enlivening," from L. vegetare "to enliven," from vegetus "vigorous, active," from vegere "to be alive, active, to quicken," from PIE *weg- "be strong, lively," related to watch (v.), vigor, velocity, and possibly witch (see VIGIL (Cf. vigil)). The meaning "resembling that of a vegetable, dull, uneventful" is attested from 1854 (see VEGETABLE (Cf. vegetable) (n.)).
{{12}}vegetable (n.) mid-15c., originally any plant, from VEGETABLE (Cf. vegetable) (adj.); specific sense of "plant cultivated for food, edible herb or root" is first recorded 1767. Slang shortening veggie first recorded 1955. The O.E. word was wyrte. Meaning "person who leads a monotonous life" is recorded from 1921. The commonest source of words for vegetables in IE languages are derivatives of words for "green" or "growing" (Cf. It., Sp. verdura, Ir. glasraidh, Dan. grèntsager). For a different association, Cf. Gk. lakhana, related to lakhaino "to dig."

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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  • Vegetable — Veg e*ta*ble, a. [F. v[ e]g[ e]table growing, capable of growing, formerly also, as a noun, a vegetable, from L. vegetabilis enlivening, from vegetare to enliven, invigorate, quicken, vegetus enlivened, vigorous, active, vegere to quicken, arouse …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • végétable — ⇒VÉGÉTABLE, adj. Rare, vieilli. [Corresp. à végéter A] Qui peut végéter. Cet arbre est sec, il n y a plus rien de végétable, ni dans le tronc, ni dans la racine (Ac. 1798 1878). Prononc. et Orth.:[ ]. Att. ds Ac. 1694 1878. Ac. 1694, 1718: vege …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • vegetable — [vej′tə bəl, vej′ə təbəl] adj. [ME < ML vegetabilis, vegetative, capable of growth < LL, animating, enlivening < L vegetare: see VEGETATE] 1. of, or having the nature of, plants in general [the vegetable kingdom] 2. of, having the nature …   English World dictionary

  • vegetable — (del lat. «vegetabĭlis») adj. y n. m. Vegetal. * * * vegetable. (Del lat. vegetabĭlis). adj. p. us. vegetal. U. t. c. s. m …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • vegetable — Vegetable. adj. de t. g. Qui peut vegeter. Cet arbre est sec, il n y a plus rien de vegetable ny dans le tronc ny dans la racine …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie française

  • Vegetable — Veg e*ta*ble, n. 1. (Biol.) A plant. See {Plant}. [1913 Webster] 2. A plant used or cultivated for food for man or domestic animals, as the cabbage, turnip, potato, bean, dandelion, etc.; also, the edible part of such a plant, as prepared for… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • vegetable — [n] edible part of plant edible, green, greens, herb, herbaceous plant, legume, produce, root, salad, truck, yellow; concept 431 …   New thesaurus

  • vegetable — (Del lat. vegetabĭlis). adj. p. us. vegetal. U. t. c. s. m.) …   Diccionario de la lengua española

  • vegetable — ► NOUN 1) a plant or part of a plant used as food. 2) informal, derogatory a person who is incapable of normal mental or physical activity, especially through brain damage. ORIGIN originally in the sense «growing as a plant»: from Latin… …   English terms dictionary

  • Vegetable — For other uses, see Vegetable (disambiguation). Farmers market showing vegetable …   Wikipedia

  • vegetable — /vej teuh beuhl, vej i teuh /, n. 1. any plant whose fruit, seeds, roots, tubers, bulbs, stems, leaves, or flower parts are used as food, as the tomato, bean, beet, potato, onion, asparagus, spinach, or cauliflower. 2. the edible part of such a… …   Universalium

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