asparagus

/əˈspɛrəgəs/

/əˈspærəgəs/

Other forms: asparaguses

Asparagus is a bright green vegetable that is tender and sweet when it's cooked. Asparagus grows straight up out of the ground in a spear shape.

The plant that grows familiar asparagus spears is actually a relative of the lily — it's considered to be a flowering plant, and a perennial, or a plant that returns every year. Asparagus has been eaten for centuries, and is even pictured in some ancient Egyptian art. The word is also asparagus in Latin, from the Greek asparagos, possibly from a Proto-Indo-European word meaning "to spring up."

Definitions of asparagus

1. noun

   plant whose succulent young shoots are cooked and eaten as a vegetable
   synonyms: Asparagus officinales, edible asparagus

   type of:

   herb, herbaceous plant

   a plant lacking a permanent woody stem; many are flowering garden plants or potherbs; some having medicinal properties; some are pests
2. noun

   edible young shoots of the asparagus plant
   type of:

   veg, vegetable, veggie

   edible seeds or roots or stems or leaves or bulbs or tubers or nonsweet fruits of any of numerous herbaceous plant