Celeries

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of vegetable characterized by long, fibrous stalks that are often used in salads or as a crunchy snack
2. The edible stalk of the Apium graveolens plant, commonly used in cooking for its flavor and texture
3. A green vegetable often found in dishes or eaten raw, known for its high water content and crispness

Etymology: "Celeries" is simply the plural of "celery", so the real story belongs to the singular. The English word came from French "céleri", which in turn was borrowed from the Lombard "selleri". That Lombard form was a plural of the Latin "selīnum", itself taken from the Ancient Greek "sélīnon", the name for parsley-like plants. The plural shape was carried over into the Romance languages, and the singular "celery" that English received is therefore a word whose ancestor was once a plural. Along the way the word pushed out native English names for the plant. Older English called celery "march" and, for the wild version, "smallage", and the French import displaced both. The plant's Greek name had long been used for a range of umbelliferous herbs, so the same root once covered several different plants before settling on the one now eaten raw in salads.

Synonyms: celery stalks, vegetables, greens, produce, crudités