| 释义 |
veg·e·ta·ble
I. \ˈvejtəbəl also -jəd.əb- or -jətəb-\ adjective
Etymology: Middle English, from Medieval Latin vegetabilis capable of growth, vegetative, fromvegetare to grow, flourish (from Latin, to enliven, animate, from vegetus lively, animated, from vegēre to rouse, excite, be active) + Latin -abilis -able — more at wake
1. obsolete : living or growing in the manner of simple living things (as plants) : vegetative
2.
a. : of or relating to plants : having the nature of or produced by plants : growing in the manner of a plant
< vegetable growths >
< vegetable matter >
< high pointed tower … seems … to have grown up in an inevitable, vegetable way from the three tall arches — Eleanor Clark >
b. : consisting of plants : vegetational
< vegetable cover >
3. : made from plant matter
< vegetable color >
< insulation used in houses can be grouped into three general classes, vegetable, mineral, and metallic — Building, Estimating & Contracting >
often : made chemically from plant tissue or substance to resemble an animal product
< vegetable wool >
< vegetable fat >
4. : resembling or suggesting a plant (as in lowliness, monotony of existence attached to one place, or inexpressiveness) : monotonous, dull, stupid
< great stretch of empty time … in which I lived an essentially vegetable existence — J.P.Roche >
< gossip, the necessary continuum of corruption and violence in otherwise vegetable lives — Harvey Manning >
II. noun
(-s)
1.
a. : plant 1c — not used technically
b. : a usually herbaceous plant (as the cabbage, potato, bean, or turnip) that is cultivated for an edible part which is used as a table vegetable
2. : an edible part of a plant (as seeds, leaves, or roots) that is used for human food and usually eaten cooked or raw during the principal part of a meal rather than as a dessert — contrasted with fruit
< the tomato though botanically a fruit is usually eaten as a vegetable >
III. noun
: a person whose mental and physical functioning is severely impaired and especially who requires supportive measures (as intravenous feeding or mechanical ventilation) to survive |