a plant or part of a plant used as food, typically as accompaniment to meat or fish, such as a cabbage, potato, turnip, or bean 蔬菜
(informal, offensive)a person who is incapable of normal mental or physical activity, especially through brain damage (非正式,冒犯)植物人 ■(informal)a person with a dull or inactive life (非正式)生活单调少动者 I thought I'd sort of flop back and be a vegetable for a bit. 我想我会放缓一点,当一会儿闲人。
adjective
[attrib.]of or relating to vegetables as food 蔬菜的 a vegetable garden. 菜园。 vegetable soup. 蔬菜汤。 ■of or relating to plants or plant life, especially as distinct from animal life or mineral substances 植物的(尤指不同于动物或矿物) vegetable matter. 植物性物质。
语源
late Middle English (in the sense 'growing as a plant'): from Old French, or from late Latin vegetabilis 'animating', from Latin vegetare (see vegetate). The noun dates from the late 16th cent