vegetable

[vej-tuh-buh l, vej-i-tuh-]

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noun

any plant whose fruit, seeds, roots, tubers, bulbs, stems, leaves, or flower parts are used as food, as the tomato, bean, beet, potato, onion, asparagus, spinach, or cauliflower.

the edible part of such a plant, as the tuber of the potato.

any member of the vegetable kingdom; plant.

Informal. a person who is so severely impaired mentally or physically as to be largely incapable of conscious responses or activity.

a dull, spiritless, and uninteresting person.

adjective

of, consisting of, or made from edible vegetables: a vegetable diet.

of, relating to, or characteristic of plants: the vegetable kingdom.

derived from plants: vegetable fiber; vegetable oils.

consisting of, comprising, or containing the substance or remains of plants: vegetable matter; a vegetable organism.

of the nature of or resembling a plant: the vegetable forms of Art Nouveau ornament.

inactive; inert; dull; uneventful: a vegetable existence.

Origin of vegetable

1350–1400; Middle English (adj.) < Late Latin vegetābilis able to live and grow, equivalent to vegetā(re) to quicken (see vegetate) + -bilis -ble

Related formsnon·veg·e·ta·ble, noun, adjective

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

Related Words for vegetable

produce, salad, herb, legume, edible, yellow, truck, green, root

Examples from the Web for vegetable

Contemporary Examples of vegetable

Preheat oven to 375°F. Heat the vegetable oil in a large, high-sided cast iron skillet.
Make Carla Hall’s Crispy Shallot Green Bean Casserole
Carla Hall
December 27, 2014
Traffic was terrible, though, so only a few dozen people gamely remained to pick over the vegetable spread and drink beer.
How the Left Cut Down a Democratic Frontrunner
David Freedlander
May 12, 2014
“My brain injuries were so severe they thought I was going to be a vegetable for the rest of my life,” he says.
From G.I. to Eye Candy: War Vet Alex Minsky’s Model Turn
Itay Hod
March 15, 2014
"He poured out everything Gregory gave him after that, the vegetable juices, every elixir," Harold says.
The Stacks: Harold Conrad Was Many Things, But He Was Never, Ever Dull
Mark Jacobson
March 8, 2014
Fried fats, hydrogenated fats, and vegetable oils are going to lead to more cravings and less satisfaction.
Five Ways to Recover Faster From Your Thanksgiving Binge
Dave Asprey
November 28, 2013

Historical Examples of vegetable

A fruit and vegetable diet seems sufficient in this climate.
In the Heart of Vosges
Matilda Betham-Edwards
The tale of the resources of California—vegetable and mineral—is a fairy-tale.
American Notes
Rudyard Kipling
And this is no doubt as true of animal as of vegetable life.
Life: Its True Genesis
R. W. Wright
What is the sun's effect on ice and snow, on vegetable and animal life?
Classic Myths
Mary Catherine Judd
The flower beds were arranged here and there in the vegetable garden.
The Mayflower, January, 1905
Various

British Dictionary definitions for vegetable

vegetable

noun

any of various herbaceous plants having parts that are used as food, such as peas, beans, cabbage, potatoes, cauliflower, and onions

informal a person who has lost control of his mental faculties, limbs, etc, as from an injury, mental disease, etc

a dull inactive person
(as modifier)a vegetable life

(modifier) consisting of or made from edible vegetablesa vegetable diet

(modifier) of, relating to, characteristic of, derived from, or consisting of plants or plant materialvegetable oils

rare any member of the plant kingdom

Word Origin for vegetable

c14 (adj): from Late Latin vegetābilis animating, from vegetāre to enliven, from Latin vegēre to excite

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 vegetable

adj.

c.1400, "living and growing as a plant," from Old French vegetable "living, fit to live," from Medieval Latin vegetabilis "growing, flourishing," from Late Latin vegetabilis "animating, enlivening," from Latin vegetare "to enliven," from vegetus "vigorous, active," from vegere "to be alive, active, to quicken," from PIE *weg- "be strong, lively," related to watch (v.), vigor, velocity, and possibly witch (see vigil). The meaning "resembling that of a vegetable, dull, uneventful" is attested from 1854 (see vegetable (n.)).

mid-15c., originally any plant, from vegetable (adj.); specific sense of "plant cultivated for food, edible herb or root" is first recorded 1767. Meaning "person who leads a monotonous life" is recorded from 1921.

Slang shortening veggie first recorded 1955. The Old English word was wyrt (see wort). The commonest source of words for vegetables in Indo-European languages are derivatives of words for "green" or "growing" (cf. Italian, Spanish verdura, Irish glasraidh, Danish grøntsager). For a different association, cf. Greek lakhana, related to lakhaino "to dig."

vegetable in Medicine