vegetabilis

Forms

vegetābilis (neuter vegetābile); third-declension two-termination adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin vegetō (“to enliven, invigorate”) + -bilis.^[2][3][4] The verb comes from vegetus (“vigorous, lively”), from vegeō (“to enliven”);^[5][6] de Vaan's reconstruction for vegeō is Proto-Italic *weg-eje/o-, from Proto-Indo-European *u̯oǵ-eie/o- (“to awaken”).^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in Ammianus Marcellinus, of an enlivening root, which Georges takes to be rhubarb.^[3][2][4]

Semantic evolution

In Late Latin it meant animating or life-giving: Martianus Capella speaks of the enlivening breezes of the west wind.^[2][3] Paulinus of Nola also has it.^[7]

Medieval philosophy used it for the basic processes of life, growth, nourishment and reproduction, as seen above all in plants:^[8] the anima vegetabilis was the soul of plants, distinct from the animal and the rational soul,^[8][9] and in Thomas Aquinas the word is a synonym of nutritivus and vegetativus.^[9] Alchemists spoke of a lapis vegetabilis.^[8] The neuter was used as a noun for a plant.^[10][9] English took vegetable in the early 15th century from Old French and directly from the Medieval Latin word.^[6]

Timeline

• c. 390 AD – Ammianus Marcellinus uses it of an enlivening root.^[3][2][4]
• 5th century AD – Martianus Capella uses it of the west wind's breezes.^[2][3][4]
• early 15th century – English borrows it as vegetable, “capable of growth”.^[6]

Meanings

Adjective

1. animating, enlivening, life-giving.^{[2][3][11][7]}
2. (Medieval Latin) Of growth and the basic processes of life, especially in plants; vegetative.^[8][9][1]
3. (Medieval Latin, philosophy) anima vegetabilis: the vegetative soul, the soul of plants.^[8][9]
4. (Medieval Latin, alchemy) Of an alchemical product with the qualities of plants.^[8]
5. (Medieval Latin, neuter as noun) A plant, a vegetable.^[10][9]

Related words

• vegeō
• vegetāmen
• vegetātiō
• vegetātor
• vegetō
• vegetus
• English vegetable

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b c d e f Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
6. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ a b Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
8. ^ a b c d e f Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b c d e f Schütz, Ludwig (1895), Thomas-Lexikon, 2nd ed., Paderborn: F. Schöningh
10. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
11. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.