Vegetarianisms

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A set of beliefs and practices centered around a diet that excludes meat and fish for ethical, health, or environmental reasons
2. A social and cultural movement advocating for the consumption of plant-based foods, often resulting in various dietary lifestyles
3. A collection of dietary principles that promote vegetarian eating habits while addressing related philosophical and moral considerations

Etymology: "Vegetarianisms" is the plural of "vegetarianism," and it is formed from "vegetarian" plus the suffix "-ism," a common way of naming a doctrine, practice or system of belief. The base word "vegetarian" was coined in the 1830s, and "vegetarianism" followed in the 1840s, a period when diet reform was gaining organized support in Britain. The British Vegetarian Society, founded in 1847, is the institution whose existence is tied to the term's early spread. The plural form is used when writers want to compare or list different kinds of meat-free eating, such as the varied motives and rules that different groups follow. Because "vegetarianism" names a practice in general, the plural turns it into a count noun for the separate versions of that practice.

Synonyms: vegetarianism, veganism, plant-based diet