salsify

[ sal-suh-fee ]

noun,plural sal·si·fies.
  1. a purple-flowered, composite plant, Tragopogon porrifolius, whose root has an oyster-like flavor and is used as a culinary vegetable.

Origin of salsify

1
1690–1700; <French salsifis, variant of sassefy, sassef(r)ique<Italian sassef(r)ica) < ?

Words Nearby salsify

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How to use salsify in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for salsify

salsify

/ (ˈsælsɪfɪ) /


nounplural -fies
  1. Also called: oyster plant, vegetable oyster a Mediterranean plant, Tragopogon porrifolius, having grasslike leaves, purple flower heads, and a long white edible taproot: family Asteraceae (composites)

  2. the root of this plant, which tastes of oysters and is eaten as a vegetable

Origin of salsify

1
C17: from French salsifis, from Italian sassefrica, from Late Latin saxifrica, from Latin saxum rock + fricāre to rub

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