vegan

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈviː.ɡən/^[1]

Etymology

It was coined in 1944 by the English vegetarian Donald Watson from the first and last letters of vegetarian,^[2][3][4][5] to tell apart those who abstain from all animal products from those who merely refuse to eat animals.^[2] He used it to name his periodical, The Vegan News, first issued in November 1944.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A person who on principle abstains from all food of animal origin: 1944.^[6][2][3]

Semantic evolution

The adjective and veganism are also from 1944.^[6] In the 19th century such a person might be called a strict vegetarian.^[2] Collins records a wider sense, a person who uses no animal product for food, clothing or any other purpose, and an adjective for things made without exploiting animals.^[4]

Timeline

• 1944 – vegan, veganism.^[6][2]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A person who eats no animal products, or who uses none for food, clothing or any other purpose.

Adjective

1. Relating to or practising veganism.
2. Made without animal products or the exploitation of animals: vegan cheese.

Word family

• veganism

Related words

• vegetarian
• vegetable

Usage notes

Vegan, of the star Vega or its imagined inhabitants (1951), is a separate word.^[6]

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press