celery

[sel-uh-ree, sel-ree]

noun

a plant, Apium graveolens, of the parsley family, whose leafstalks are eaten raw or cooked.

Origin of celery

1655–65; < French céleri < Italian seleri, plural of selero ≪ Greek sélinon parsley

Can be confusedcelery salary

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for celery

Contemporary Examples of celery

Atop the chili goes a spill of crisp chopped raw onions, and atop the onions you want a sprinkle of celery salt.
Classics Get a Cheesy Twist at Fall River Spot
Jane & Michael Stern
May 4, 2014
Cut the tops off the carrots and celery and peel your onion, then dice them.
Your Friday Gadget Chef Recipe: Two Day Soup
Megan McArdle
November 9, 2012
The skinny Minnie even had some critics asking if the famed mouse had binged on celery and cocaine over the summer.
Disney Characters Are Slimmed Down For Barneys and Harrods Holiday Campaigns
Misty White Sidell
November 6, 2012
Use that minute to peel the onion and carrot, and wash your celery.
The Gadget Chef: Reconstructed Chicken Soup
Megan McArdle
November 2, 2012
Sister Margaret Geary, 85, survived on celery sticks, a bottle of water, and cough drops she sucked on to quell her thirst.
Elevator Horror Stories
The Daily Beast
December 15, 2011

Historical Examples of celery

Add the remainder of the celery and pour the sauce over this.
Woman's Institute Library of Cookery, Vol. 2
Woman's Institute of Domestic Arts and Sciences
Why is it that celery is for the most part only eaten raw with cheese?
The Cook's Decameron: A Study in Taste:
Mrs. W. G. Waters
Chop up a stick of celery, a sprig of parsley, a carrot, an onion.
The Cook's Decameron: A Study in Taste:
Mrs. W. G. Waters
Prepare a head of celery as above, and cut it up into equal pieces.
The Cook's Decameron: A Study in Taste:
Mrs. W. G. Waters
Boil some carrots, cauliflower, spinach, and celery (all cut up) in water.
The Cook's Decameron: A Study in Taste:
Mrs. W. G. Waters

British Dictionary definitions for celery

celery

noun

an umbelliferous Eurasian plant, Apium graveolens dulce, whose blanched leafstalks are used in salads or cooked as a vegetableSee also celeriac

wild celery a related and similar plant, Apium graveolens

Word Origin for celery

C17: from French céleri, from Italian (Lombardy) dialect selleri (plural), from Greek selinon parsley

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for celery

1660s, from French céleri (17c., originally sceleri d'Italie), said by French sources to be from Italian (Lombard dialect) seleri (singular selero), from Late Latin selinon, from Greek selinon "parsley," of uncertain origin.

[O]ne day, in a weak and hungry moment, my roommate and I succumbed to a bit of larceny. A greengrocer's truck had parked down the street and was left unattended. We grabbed the first crate we could off the back. It turned out to be celery. For two days we ate nothing but celery and used up more calories chewing than we realized in energy. "Damn it," I said to my roommate, "What're we going to do? We can't starve." "That's funny," he replied. "I thought we could." [Chuck Jones, "Chuck Amuck," 1989]