vegetable

vegetable
\ \ [14] Latin vegēre meant ‘be active’ (it was formed from the same Indo-European base as lies behind English vigil, vigour, and wake).
\ \ From it was derived vegetus ‘active’, which in turn formed the basis of vegetāre ‘enliven, animate’. From this again came late Latin vegetābilis ‘enlivening’, which came to be applied specifically to plant growth. It was in this sense that the word entered English (via Old French vegetable), and it was not further narrowed down to ‘plant grown for food’ until the 18th century. Its semantic descent from its original links with ‘life, liveliness’ was completed in the early 20th century, when vegetable came to be used for an ‘inactive person’. The derivative vegetarian was formed in the early 1840s, and vegan was coined from this around 1944.
\ \ Cf.⇒ VIGIL, VIGOUR, WAKE

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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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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