/ ˈvedʒtəbl; NAmE / noun
1.
(also informal veg·gie especially in NAmE ) a plant or part of a plant that is eaten as food. Potatoes, beans and onions are all vegetables :
green vegetables (= for example cabbage )
root vegetables (= for example carrots )
a salad of raw vegetables
a vegetable garden / patch / plot
vegetable matter (= plants in general)
—compare animal , fruit , mineral
2.
( BrE also cab·bage ) a person who is physically alive but not capable of much mental or physical activity, for example because of an accident or illness :
Severe brain damage turned him into a vegetable.
3.
a person who has a boring life :
Since losing my job I've been a vegetable.
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WORD ORIGIN
late Middle English (in the sense growing as a plant ): from Old French , or from late Latin vegetabilis animating, from Latin vegetare , from vegetus active, from vegere be active. The current sense dates from the late 16th cent.