salsify

[ sal-suh-fee ]
/ ˈsæl sə fi /

noun, plural sal·si·fies.

a purple-flowered, composite plant, Tragopogon porrifolius, whose root has an oyster-like flavor and is used as a culinary vegetable.

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full seriousness, as of intention or purpose.
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urgent character; imperativeness; insistence; importunateness.
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Also called oyster plant, vegetable oyster.

Origin of salsify

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

Words nearby salsify

salpingostomy, salpingotomy, salpinx, salsa, salsa verde, salsify, salt, salt away, salt bath, salt cake, salt cedar
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

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British Dictionary definitions for salsify

salsify
/ (ˈsælsɪfɪ) /

noun plural -fies

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

Word Origin for salsify

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