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Intermediate Dictionary
       

veg·e·ta·ble

vegetable

 
 
pronunciation:
vej t bl
parts of speech:
noun, adjective
features:
Word History, Word Explorer
part of speech: noun
definition 1: a plant or part of a plant, such as carrots, beans, or lettuce, that is used for food.
 
definition 2: any living thing that is a plant.
Some people classify everything in nature as either animal, vegetable, or mineral.
 
part of speech: adjective
definition 1: coming from or made of vegetables that can be eaten.
The cook made a delicious vegetable stew.
definition 2: of or having to do with a plant or plants.
There is a lot of vegetable matter at the bottom of the lake.
Word History
In the 1300s, the word vegetable meant "living and growing." The word's modern meaning, "a plant that is cultivated for food," began to be used in the mid-1700s. The origin of the word "vegetable" is the Latin word vegetabilis, which means "to give energy to" or "enliven."
Word Explorer
broader categories that include vegetable
person who only eats vegetables
see/see also vegetable
some activities involving vegetables
some components of vegetables
some examples of vegetables
some kinds of preserved vegetables
some parts of vegetables
some people associated with vegetables
some places for vegetables
some things that produce vegetables