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vegetable
(redirected from vegetable matter base)

   Also found in: Medical, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.07 sec.
veg·e·ta·ble  (vjt-bl, vj-t-)
n.
1.
a. A plant cultivated for an edible part, such as the root of the beet, the leaf of spinach, or the flower buds of broccoli or cauliflower.
b. The edible part of such a plant.
c. A member of the vegetable kingdom; a plant.
2. Offensive Slang One who is severely impaired mentally and physically, as by brain injury or disease.
3. One who is regarded as dull, passive, or unresponsive.
adj.
1. Of, relating to, or derived from plants or a plant.
2. Suggestive of or resembling a plant.
3. Growing or multiplying like plants.

[From Middle English, living and growing as plants do, from Old French, from Medieval Latin vegetbilis, from Late Latin, enlivening, from Latin vegetre, to enliven, from vegetus, lively, from vegre, to be lively; see weg- in Indo-European roots.]
Word History: Andrew Marvell's "To His Coy Mistress" contains many striking phrases and images, but perhaps most puzzling to modern readers is one in this promise from the speaker to his beloved: "Had we but world enough, and time . . . /My vegetable love should grow/Vaster than empires and more slow." One critic has playfully praised Marvell for his ability to make one "think of pumpkins and eternity in one breath," but vegetable in this case is only indirectly related to edible plants. Here the word is used figuratively in the sense "having the property of life and growth, as does a plant," a use based on an ancient religious and philosophical notion of the tripartite soul. As interpreted by the Scholastics, the vegetative soul was common to plants, animals, and humans; the sensitive soul was common to animals and humans; and the rational soul was found only in humans. "Vegetable love" is thus a love that grows, takes nourishment, and reproduces, although slowly. Marvell's 17th-century use illustrates the original sense of vegetable, first recorded in the 15th century. In 1582 we find recorded for the first time the adjective use of vegetable familiar to us, "having to do with plants." In a work of the same date appears the first instance of vegetable as a noun, meaning "a plant." It is not until the 18th century that we find the noun and adjective used more restrictively to refer specifically to certain kinds of plants that are eaten.

vegetable
Noun
1. a plant, such as potato or cauliflower, with parts that are used as food
2. Informal someone who is unable to move or think, as a result of brain damage
Adjective
of or like plants or vegetables [Late Latin vegetabilis animating]

vegetable  (vjt-bl)
1. A plant that is cultivated for an edible part, such as the leaf of spinach, the root of the carrot, or the stem of celery.
2. An edible part of one of these plants. See Note at fruit.
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.vegetablevegetable - edible seeds or roots or stems or leaves or bulbs or tubers or nonsweet fruits of any of numerous herbaceous plant
garden truck, green goods, green groceries, produce - fresh fruits and vegetable grown for the market
julienne, julienne vegetable - a vegetable cut into thin strips (usually used as a garnish)
rabbit food, raw vegetable - an uncooked vegetable
legume - the seedpod of a leguminous plant (such as peas or beans or lentils)
potherb - any of various herbaceous plants whose leaves or stems or flowers are cooked and used for food or seasoning
greens, leafy vegetable, green - any of various leafy plants or their leaves and stems eaten as vegetables
solanaceous vegetable - any of several fruits of plants of the family Solanaceae; especially of the genera Solanum, Capsicum, and Lycopersicon
root vegetable - any of various fleshy edible underground roots or tubers
pieplant, rhubarb - long pinkish sour leafstalks usually eaten cooked and sweetened
cruciferous vegetable - a vegetable of the mustard family: especially mustard greens; various cabbages; broccoli; cauliflower; brussels sprouts
squash - edible fruit of a squash plant; eaten as a vegetable
cuke, cucumber - cylindrical green fruit with thin green rind and white flesh eaten as a vegetable; related to melons
artichoke, globe artichoke - a thistlelike flower head with edible fleshy leaves and heart
artichoke heart - the tender fleshy center of the immature artichoke flower
asparagus - edible young shoots of the asparagus plant
bamboo shoot - edible young shoots of bamboo
onion - an aromatic flavorful vegetable
leek - related to onions; white cylindrical bulb and flat dark-green leaves
cardoon - only parts eaten are roots and especially stalks (blanched and used as celery); related to artichokes
celery - stalks eaten raw or cooked or used as seasoning
gumbo, okra - long mucilaginous green pods; may be simmered or sauteed but used especially in soups and stews
mushroom - fleshy body of any of numerous edible fungi
pumpkin - usually large pulpy deep-yellow round fruit of the squash family maturing in late summer or early autumn
truffle, earthnut - edible subterranean fungus of the genus Tuber
plantain - starchy banana-like fruit; eaten (always cooked) as a staple vegetable throughout the tropics
finocchio, Florence fennel, fennel - aromatic bulbous stem base eaten cooked or raw in salads
herb, herbaceous plant - a plant lacking a permanent woody stem; many are flowering garden plants or potherbs; some having medicinal properties; some are pests
2.vegetablevegetable - any of various herbaceous plants cultivated for an edible part such as the fruit or the root of the beet or the leaf of spinach or the seeds of bean plants or the flower buds of broccoli or cauliflower
beet, Beta vulgaris, common beet - biennial Eurasian plant usually having a swollen edible root; widely cultivated as a food crop
prickly-seeded spinach, spinach, spinach plant, Spinacia oleracea - southwestern Asian plant widely cultivated for its succulent edible dark green leaves
artichoke, artichoke plant, Cynara scolymus, globe artichoke - Mediterranean thistlelike plant widely cultivated for its large edible flower head
cardoon, Cynara cardunculus - southern European plant having spiny leaves and purple flowers cultivated for its edible leafstalks and roots
herb, herbaceous plant - a plant lacking a permanent woody stem; many are flowering garden plants or potherbs; some having medicinal properties; some are pests
Translations
vegetable [ˈvɛdʒtəbl] n (BOT) → vegetal m;
(edible plant) → legumbre f; hortaliza
adjvegetal;
vegetables npl (cooked) → verduras fpl

vegetable [ˈvɛdʒtəbl] nlégume m
adjvégétal(e)

vegetable [ˈvɛdʒtəbl] n (plant) → Gemüse nt;
(plant life) → Pflanzen pl
cpd (oil etc) → Pflanzen-;
(garden, plot) → Gemüse-

vegetable [ˈvɛdʒtəbl] nverdura, ortaggio
adjvegetale

vegetable
n vegetable [ˈvedʒtəbl]
1 a plant or part of a plant, other than a fruit, used as food We grow potatoes, beans and other vegetables; (also adjective ) vegetable oils. groente, plante خُضْرَه зеленчук zelenina; zeleninový grøntsag; vegetabilsk das Gemüse, Gemüse... λαχανικό, χορταρικό, φυτικός verdura, hortaliza köögivili سبزیجات vihannes (à, de, aux) légume(s) יֶרֶק सब्जी povrće zöldség(féle) sayuran grænmeti verdure, ortaggi 野菜 야채, 채소 daržovė dārzenis sayur-sayuran groente; plantaardig grønnsak warzywo vegetal legumă; de legume овощ zelenina; zeleninový zelenjava povrće grönsak; vegetabilisk พืชผัก sebze 蔬菜 овочі سبزي rau
2 a plant Grass is a vegetable, gold is a mineral and a human being is an animal. groente نَبات зарзават rostlina plante die Pflanze φυτό vegetal taim گیاه kasvi végétal צֶמָח मानसिक रूप से निष्क्रिय biljka növény tumbuhan jurt, planta vegetale 植物 식물 augalas augs tumbuhan plant plante roślina vegetal plantă растение rastlina rastlina biljka växt ผัก bitki 植物 городина پودا thực vật
n vegeˈtarian [vedʒi-]
a person who does not eat meat of any kind Has he always been a vegetarian?; (also adjective ) This is a vegetarian dish. vegetariër شَخْص نَباتي вегетарианец, вегетариански vegetarián, -ka; vegetariánský vegetar; vegetarisk; vegetar- der/die Vegetarier(in), vegetarisch χορτοφάγος vegetariano taimetoitlane گیاهخوار kasvissyöjä, kasvis- végétarien/-ienne צִמחוֹנִי शाकाहारी vegetarijanac vegetáriánus pemakan sayuran grænmetisæta vegetariano 菜食主義者(の) 채식주의자 vegetaras; vegetariškas veģetārietis; veģetāriešu-; veģetārs vegetarian vegetari{#225}{#137}{#225}r; vegetarisch vegetarianer jarosz vegetariano vegetarian вегетарианец vegetarián, -ka vegetarijanec vegeterijanski vegetarian; vegetarisk คนกินมังสวิรัติ etyemez, vejetaryen 吃素者 вегетаріанець; вегетаріанський سبزي خور người ăn chay
n vegeˈtarianism
vegetarisme نَظَرِيَّة العَيْش على النَّباتات вегетарианство vegetariánství vegetarisme der Vegetarismus χορτοφαγία vegetarianismo vegetaarlus گیاهخواری vegetarismi végétarisme צִמחוֹנוּת शाकाहार में विश्वास vegetarijanstvo vegetarianizmus paham pantang daging mataræði og manneldisstefna sem byggir á jurtafæði vegetarianismo 菜食主義 채식주의, 채식 생활 vegetarizmas veģetārisms vegetarianisme vegetarisme vegetarianisme wegetarianizm vegetarianismo vegetarianism вегетарианство vegetariánstvo vegetarijanstvo vegeterijanstvo vegetarianism การรับประทานแต่พืชผักเป็นอาหาร etyemezlik 素食主義 вегетаріанство سبزي خوري کا اصول thói quen ăn chay
v vegetate [ˈvedʒiteit]
to live an idle, boring and pointless life I would like to get a job – I don't want to vegetate. vegeteer يَعيشُ حَياةً خامِلَه живуркам živořit vegetere (dahin) vegetieren ζω ανούσια και βαρετή ζωή vegetar vegeteerima گیاه وار زیستن؛ خوردن و خوابیدن vetelehtiä végéter לִחיוֹת חַיִים רֵיקִים निष्क्रिय जीवन बिताना vegetirati tengődik menganggur lifa tilþrifalausu lífi vegetare 無為に暮す 무기력하게 지내다, 무위 도식하다 vegetuoti veģetēt menjadikan hidup sso bosan vegeteren leve passivt, vegetere wegetować vegetar a vegeta прозябать živoriť životariti vegetirati vegetera อยู่เฉย ๆ ไม่ทำอะไร amaçsız bir yaşam sürmek 單調生活, 過單調乏味的生活 вегетаріанство بے کار زندگي گزارنا sống vô vị 生活,
n vegeˈtation [vedʒi-]
plants in general; plants of a particular region or type tropical vegetation. plantegroei نَباتات растителност rostlinstvo, vegetace vegetation die Vegetation βλάστηση vegetación taimestik گیاهان kasvillisuus végétation צִמחִייָה पौधों की वृद्धि vegetacija növényzet tetumbuhan gróður vegetazione 植物 식물; (한 지방의) 식물 식생 augmenija veģetācija; augu valsts tumbuh-tumbuhan vegetatie vegetasjon, plantevekst roślinność vegetação vegetaţie растительность rastlinstvo rastlinstvo vegetacija vegetation พืชผัก bitkiler, bitki örtüsü/topluluğu 植被, 植物 рослинність سبزي، نباتات thực vật ,


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