celery

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈsɛləɹi/ (UK); /ˈsɛləɹi/, /ˈsɛlɹi/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French céleri,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from Lombard Italian seleri, the plural of selero,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from Late Latin selīnon (“parsley”), from Ancient Greek σέλινον (sélinon, “parsley”),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} a word of uncertain origin.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The plant cultivated for its blanched stalks (1664).^[7][3][5][4]

Semantic evolution

The word first appeared as sellery;^[4] the spelling with c-, from French, is attested by 1719.^[4] In Medieval Greek sélinon had already shifted from parsley to celery.^[4] Middle English words for wild celery were ache and selinum.^[4] The plural form of the Italian source is paralleled in lettuce.^[4]

Timeline

• 1664 – the plant, as sellery.^[7][3][4]
• 1719 – the spelling celery.^[4]
• 1827 – celery pine.^[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A biennial European plant, Apium graveolens, of the parsley family, with edible roots, leafstalks, leaves and seeds.
2. The crisp thick leafstalks of this plant, eaten raw or cooked.
3. The seed-like fruits of this plant, used as a flavouring.

Word family

• celeriac
• celery cabbage
• celery root
• celery salt

Related words

• parsley
• fennel

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e 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 l 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 Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press