Veges

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A colloquial term for vegetables; a verb meaning to spend time in a lethargic or unproductive state; the act of relaxing without exertion or mental activity
2. Informal shorthand for edible plant parts; describes a state of idleness or mental dullness; to lounge or engage in minimal activity often associated with watching TV or resting
3. A casual expression referring to any plant-based food; signifies a dazed or inert condition; denotes the practice of unwinding with little physical or cognitive effort

Etymology: "Veges" is the plural of "veg," which is the British clipping of "vegetable." The singular "veg" was coined in a 1948 paper in the American Journal of Psychology by Robert S. Harper and S. S. Stevens, who needed a short, tidy label for a category of food in a study of taste and diet. Their coinage took the first syllables of "vegetable" and shortened them into a single word that could be pluralised like any other noun. The plural "veges" is a further step, and it is one that the clipped word has itself been reshaped by, since "veg" in the sense of vegetables is already a clipping. It is the form the term takes when a speaker means several kinds of plant food at once. The plural keeps the word's original purpose of grouping edible plant parts under one name, though the clipping makes it sound more casual than its parent word.

Synonyms: vegetables, veggies, produce