as·par·a·gus
(ə-spăr′ə-gəs)n.
1. The tender young shoots of the plant Asparagus officinalis, eaten as a vegetable.
2. Any of various perennial plants of the genus Asparagus of Eurasia and Africa, having leaflike stems, scalelike leaves, and small flowers.
[Late Middle English sperage, sparage, from Medieval Latin sparagus, from Latin asparagus, from Greek aspharagos, asparagos.]
Word History: After the rebirth of classical learning during the Renaissance, Greek and Latin achieved a lofty status among the educated. As a result, etymologists and spelling reformers of the 16th and 17th centuries tried to give English a classical look by Latinizing or Hellenizing the spelling of words that had Latin or Greek ancestry (and even some that didn't). For example, Medieval Latin had a word sparagus, from Classical Latin asparagus, that was borrowed into Middle English and rendered as sparage or, more commonly, sperage. Botanists were familiar with the proper Latin version asparagus, and their use of that term together with the efforts of the etymologists caused the Latin form to become more widespread, eventually supplanting sperage. In the 1600s, however, asparagus was shortened in popular speech to 'sparagus, and reanalyzed—this time by amateur etymologists—as sparagrass or sparrowgrass. These variants gained wide acceptance during the 18th century, largely relegating asparagus to the field of botany. Asparagus eventually found its way back into common use during the 19th century. Thus, it is difficult to say whether the Modern English word asparagus is a direct descendant of Middle English sperage or a borrowing directly from Latin—a difficulty one encounters with hundreds of other words whose spellings and even pronunciations were Latinized during this time.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
asparagus
(əˈspærəɡəs)n
1. (Plants) any Eurasian liliaceous plant of the genus Asparagus, esp the widely cultivated A. officinalis, having small scaly or needle-like leaves
2. (Plants) the succulent young shoots of A. officinalis, which may be cooked and eaten
3. (Plants) asparagus fern a fernlike species of asparagus, A. plumosus, native to southern Africa
[C15: from Latin, from Greek asparagos, of obscure origin]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
as•par•a•gus
(əˈspær ə gəs)n.
1. any plant of the genus Asparagus, of the lily family, esp. A. officinalis, cultivated for its edible shoots.
2. the shoots, eaten as a vegetable.
[1540–50; < Latin < Greek asp(h)áragos]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
| Noun | 1. |  asparagus - plant whose succulent young shoots are cooked and eaten as a vegetableasparagus - edible young shoots of the asparagus plant herb, herbaceous plant - a plant lacking a permanent woody stem; many are flowering garden plants or potherbs; some having medicinal properties; some are pests genus Asparagus - large genus of Old World perennial herbs with erect or spreading or climbing stems and small scalelike leaves and inconspicuous flowers; sometimes placed in family Asparagaceae |
| 2. |  asparagus - edible young shoots of the asparagus plantveg, vegetable, veggie - edible seeds or roots or stems or leaves or bulbs or tubers or nonsweet fruits of any of numerous herbaceous plant asparagus, Asparagus officinales, edible asparagus - plant whose succulent young shoots are cooked and eaten as a vegetable |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations
chřest
asparges
parsa
šparoga
spárga
アスパラガス
아스파라거스
sparris
หน่อไม้ฝรั่ง
măng tây
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
asparagus
n no pl → Spargel m
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
asparagus
→ الهِلْيَوْن chřest asparges Spargel σπαράγγι espárrago parsa asperge šparoga asparago アスパラガス 아스파라거스 asperge asparges szparag aspargo, espargo спаржа sparris หน่อไม้ฝรั่ง kuşkonmaz măng tây 芦笋Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009
asparagus
n espárragoEnglish-Spanish/Spanish-English Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.