asparagus English · revision 1154

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /əˈspæɹ.ə.ɡəs/ ''(UK)''; /əˈspæɹ.ə.ɡəs/, /əˈspɛɹ.ə.ɡəs/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|asparagus]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) [[der|grc|ἀσπάραγος|tr=asparágos]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) of uncertain origin;^(Etymonline) Merriam-Webster suggests a link with Greek ''sparganân'' “to swell”,^(MW Collegiate) while Barnhart and Beekes take it as a borrowing from another language.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) The current form was borrowed again from Latin in the 16th century,^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) replacing earlier ''sparage'' and ''sperage''^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) and Middle English ''asperages'', from Old French ''asperge''.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The plant, as ''sparagi'' in late Old English (about 1000).^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Middle English ''asperages'' was sometimes taken as a plural, with a false singular ''aspergy''.^(Etymonline) From the 17th to the 19th century the common form was the folk-etymological ''sparrowgrass'',^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) and the Latin form, used at first by herbalists, had an air of stiffness and pedantry, according to Walker (1791).^(Etymonline) By the late 19th century ''asparagus'' had become the popular form.^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * about 1000 – late Old English ''sparagi''.^(OED 1989)^(RHWU)

+ * before 1398 – ''asperages''.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1545 – ''asparagus'' (Merriam-Webster).^(MW Collegiate)

+ * before 1650 – ''sparagrass'', ''sparrowgrass''.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * late 19th century – ''asparagus'' the popular form.^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The tender young shoots of a Eurasian plant (''Asparagus officinalis''), eaten as a [[vegetable]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Any of various perennial plants of the genus ''Asparagus'', with leaflike stems, scalelike leaves and small flowers.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[asparagine]]

+ * [[aspartate]]

+ * [[asparagus fern]]

+ * [[asparagus bean]]

+ * [[asparagus beetle]]

+ * [[asparagus pea]]

+ * [[aspartic acid]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[sparrowgrass]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}