n. & adj.
n. 1 Bot. any of various plants, esp. a herbaceous plant used wholly or partly for food, e.g. a cabbage, potato, turnip, or bean. 2 colloq. a a person who is incapable of normal intellectual activity, esp. through brain injury etc. b a person lacking in animation or living a monotonous life.
adj. 1 of, derived from, relating to, or comprising plants or plant life, esp. as distinct from animal life or mineral substances. 2 of or relating to vegetables as food. 3 a unresponsive to stimulus (vegetable behaviour). b uneventful, monotonous (a vegetable existence). vegetable butter a vegetable fat with the consistency of butter. vegetable ivory see IVORY. vegetable marrow see MARROW 1. vegetable oyster = SALSIFY. vegetable parchment see PARCHMENT 2. vegetable spaghetti 1 a variety of marrow with flesh resembling spaghetti. 2 its flesh. vegetable sponge = LOOFAH. vegetable tallow see TALLOW. vegetable wax an exudation of certain plants such as sumac.
[ ME f. OF vegetable or LL vegetabilis animating (as VEGETATE) ]