Vegetable
/ˈvɛdʒ.tə.bəl/noun
A plant or part of a plant used as food, especially in savory cooking.
Did you know?Its ancestor is Latin *vegetāre*, “to enliven” or “to quicken,” from *vegetus*, meaning lively, vigorous, or active—so the word started out closer to “animate” than “carrot.”
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*weg-
“to be lively, active, strong”
Latin
Latin
vegetus
“lively, active, brisk, vigorous”
Latin
Latin
vegetāre
“to enliven, animate, quicken”
Late Latin
LL
vegetabilis
“animating, enlivening; later, capable of growth”
Old French
OF
vegetable
“a plant, especially one grown for food”
Middle English
English
vegetable
“a plant; later, a plant used as food”
Modern English
English
vegetable
“a plant or part of a plant used as food”
Explore more surprising origins