Vegetable

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈvɛd͡ʒ.tə.bəl/

Definitions

1. A plant or part of a plant that is eaten as food, typically served with meat or fish as part of a meal
2. An edible plant or its part, often consumed for nutrition, which can include roots, leaves, seeds, or stems in various culinary dishes
3. A plant component that is typically eaten raw or cooked, providing essential nutrients and often forming part of a balanced diet

Etymology: The word "vegetable" started out as an adjective meaning "able to live and grow," drawn from Latin "vegetābilis," which came from "vegetāre," "to enliven." The idea was that a living thing was defined by its capacity to grow, so the plant kingdom was the realm of vegetative life, and the sense of "a plant" came later. Its Latin ancestor sits in a family of words about vigour and wakefulness. "Vegetus" meant lively or vigorous, and "vegetāre" carried the sense of animating or stimulating, which is why the same root turns up in "vigil" and "vigour." The English word thus preserves a sense of liveliness that has nothing to do with the kitchen. Before "vegetable" displaced them, English speakers used "wort" and "ovest" for edible plants. "Wort" survives today mainly in names like "St John's wort" and "wort" in brewing, while "ovest" faded out entirely.

Synonyms: plant, produce, greens, herb, crop

Antonyms: animal, meat, fish, poultry, seafood