# vegetable

Pronunciation: say "VEJ-tuh-buhl" /ˈvɛd͡ʒ.tə.bl̩/

## Noun

1. A plant, or a part of one such as its leaves, roots, stems, or flowers, that is eaten as food, usually savory rather than sweet like fruit.
   - Simple: A plant or part of a plant, such as a carrot, potato, or cabbage, that people cook or eat as food.
   - _The stew was packed with diced vegetables and barley._
   - _Spinach is the one vegetable my son will eat without complaining, as long as it's blended into a smoothie._
5. A derogatory term for a person left unable to interact with their surroundings by severe brain damage, as in a persistent vegetative state.
   - Simple: An insulting word for someone who cannot move or respond because of serious brain damage.
   - _Years in a coma had reduced him, in the cruel words of the press, to a vegetable._
   - _After the crash left him unable to speak or respond, a cruel neighbor referred to him as a vegetable, and his sister never forgave her._

## Adjective

2. Relating to or made from vegetables.
   - Simple: Having to do with vegetables, or made from them.
   - _The cafe is known for its hearty vegetable stew._
   - _She wrote a thesis on the vegetable trade of medieval ports._
3. Relating to plants or the plant world.
   - Simple: Having to do with plants, or coming from them.
   - _The dye came from vegetable sources rather than minerals._
   - _Old textbooks split the world into animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms._

## Noun

4. Any organism belonging to the plant kingdom, as distinct from an animal or a mineral. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: A plant of any kind, such as a tree, flower, fern, or moss.

## Other meanings

- (noun) In Royal Air Force slang, an explosive sea mine sown by dropping it from an aircraft.

## Origin

From Middle English vegetable, via Old French, from Latin vegetābilis ('able to live and grow'), which came from vegetāre ('to enliven'). It replaced the Old English words wyrt and ofett.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/vegetable (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).