vegetation English · revision 39729

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=?c1450|origins=la vegetō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˌvɛd͡ʒəˈteɪʃən/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|vegetātiō|t=act of invigorating]], recorded in Apuleius in the 2nd century, which in medieval Latin also meant the power of growth;^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002)^(ODE 2010) the Latin noun is formed on the past participle stem of [[m|la|vegetō|t=to enliven, quicken]], the source of [[vegetate]], with the suffix that became [[-ation]].^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)^(Klein 1966) Etymonline also allows some influence from [[m|fr|végétation]],^(Etymonline) and the verb is related to [[vegetable]].^(Etymonline)^(Dictionary.com 2016)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The power of growth, or the action of a plant or seed in growing: the OED's first quotation is from a manuscript of about 1450.^(OED 2026)^(HTOED) Etymonline dates the word to the 1560s, as the act of vegetating,^(Etymonline) Merriam-Webster gives 1564 for growth in general,^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026) and Dictionary.com 1555–65.^(Dictionary.com 2016)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Johnson (1755) still defined the word only as the power of producing the growth of plants.^(Johnson 1755) In the 17th century it was also used of the growth or vital power of the soul (1613–1745), of a single stage of plant growth (1672–1779) and, in alchemy and chemistry, of the plant-like growth of crystals and other inorganic substances (from 1671);^(OED 2026)^(HTOED) a plant itself was a ''vegetation'' from before 1641 until the 19th century.^(OED 2026) The collective sense, plants or plant life as a whole, especially those of a particular place, is recorded in James Thomson's ''Summer'' in 1744,^(OED 2026)^(HTOED) and by 1727 in Etymonline.^(Etymonline) In medicine, from 1762, it names a plant-like growth on a surface of the body, especially on a heart valve.^(OED 2026)^(HTOED) The figurative sense, a dull existence without intellectual or social activity, appears in a letter of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu in 1760,^(OED 2026)^(HTOED) parallel to the verb ''vegetate''.^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * ?c1450 – the power of growth.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1564 – the process of growing and developing.^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1613 – the growing power of the soul (obsolete by 1745).^(OED 2026)

+ * 1671 – plant-like growth of inorganic substances.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1744 – plants collectively.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1760 – a dull, inactive existence.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1762 – (medicine) a plant-like growth on the body.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[plant|alt=Plants]] or plant life as a whole, especially the plants of a particular area: ''Thick vegetation covered the riverbanks.''^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+ # The act or process of growing as a plant does.^(MWU 2024)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(medicine)'' An abnormal growth on a body surface, especially a clot of fibrin and cells on a [[heart]] valve.^(OED 2026)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A dull existence lacking mental or social [[stimulation]].^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[vegetational]]

+ * [[vegetationless]]

+ * [[prevegetation]]

+ * [[undervegetation]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[vegetate]]

+ * [[vegetable]]

+ * [[vegetative]]

+ * [[vigour]]

+ * [[vigil]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}