Etymology Explorer › Old French

Where does “vegetable” come from?

vegetable (Old French) comes from Latin vegetabilis, from Latin vegeto, from Latin vegetus, from Latin vegeo, from Proto-Italic wegeō, from Proto-Italic wegejō, from Proto-Indo-European woǵ-éye-, from Proto-Indo-European weǵ- — lively, awake; strong.

Ancestry of “vegetable”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinvegetabilisanimating, enlivening, vivifying; able to produce...
2LatinvegetoI arouse, enliven, quicken, animate, invigorate;...
3Latinvegetusenlivened, lively, animated, vigorous, active,...
4LatinvegeoI move, excite, quicken, arouse; I am lively or...
5Proto-Italicwegeōto be active, lively
6Proto-Italicwegejō—
7Proto-Indo-Europeanwoǵ-éye-—
8Proto-Indo-Europeanweǵ-lively, awake; strong

Words derived from “vegetable”

  • vegetable
  • vegetarian
  • vegetarianism
  • nonvegetarian
  • veggo
  • lactovegetarian
  • semivegetarian
  • nonvegetable
  • vegetably
  • antivegetarian
  • vegetized
  • vegetarianize
  • vegephobia
  • vegetablization
  • multivegetable
  • semivegetarianism
  • demi-vegetarian
  • ベジタブル
  • vegetarianism
  • vegetarian
  • vegetable
Every word from Proto-Indo-European weǵ- →