asparagus

Pronunciation

• IPA: /əˈspæɹ.ə.ɡəs/ (UK); /əˈspæɹ.ə.ɡəs/, /əˈspɛɹ.ə.ɡəs/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin asparagus,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from Ancient Greek ἀσπάραγος (asparágos),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} of uncertain origin;^[4] Merriam-Webster suggests a link with Greek sparganân “to swell”,^[5] while Barnhart and Beekes take it as a borrowing from another language.^[3][4] The current form was borrowed again from Latin in the 16th century,^[3][4] replacing earlier sparage and sperage^[3][4][6] and Middle English asperages, from Old French asperge.^[3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The plant, as sparagi in late Old English (about 1000).^[7][4][6]

Semantic evolution

In Middle English asperages was sometimes taken as a plural, with a false singular aspergy.^[4] From the 17th to the 19th century the common form was the folk-etymological sparrowgrass,^[3][4][6] and the Latin form, used at first by herbalists, had an air of stiffness and pedantry, according to Walker (1791).^[4] By the late 19th century asparagus had become the popular form.^[3]

Timeline

• about 1000 – late Old English sparagi.^[7][6]
• before 1398 – asperages.^[3]
• 1545 – asparagus (Merriam-Webster).^[5]
• before 1650 – sparagrass, sparrowgrass.^[3]
• late 19th century – asparagus the popular form.^[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The tender young shoots of a Eurasian plant (Asparagus officinalis), eaten as a vegetable.
2. Any of various perennial plants of the genus Asparagus, with leaflike stems, scalelike leaves and small flowers.

Word family

• asparagine
• aspartate
• asparagus fern
• asparagus bean
• asparagus beetle
• asparagus pea
• aspartic acid

Related words

• sparrowgrass

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d e f Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press