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artichoke - 4 dictionary results
ar⋅ti⋅choke
[ahr-ti-chohk] 
–noun
| 1. | a tall, thistlelike composite plant, Cynara scolymus, native to the Mediterranean region, of which the numerous scalelike bracts and receptacle of the immature flower head are eaten as a vegetable. |
| 2. | the large, rounded, closed flower head itself. |
| 3. | Jerusalem artichoke. |
Also called globe artichoke (for defs. 1, 2).
Origin:
1525–35; < Upper It articiocco, var. (by dissimilation) of arciciocco, arcicioffo < *arcarcioffo < OSp alcarchofa < dial. Ar al-kharshūf the artichoke
1525–35; < Upper It articiocco, var. (by dissimilation) of arciciocco, arcicioffo < *arcarcioffo < OSp alcarchofa < dial. Ar al-kharshūf the artichoke
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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|
Link To artichoke
| ar·ti·choke (är'tĭ-chōk') n.
[Ultimately from Old Spanish alcarchofa, from Arabic al-ḫaršuf : al-, the + ḫuršūf, ḫaršuf, artichoke.] Word History: Those who have been warned to watch out for the sharp-tipped bracts toward the innermost part of an artichoke may have wondered whether the name of this vegetable has anything to do with choking. Originally it did not. Our word goes back to an Arabic word for the same plant, al-ḫaršuf. Along with many other Arabic words, it passed into Spanish during the Middle Ages, when Muslims ruled much of Spain. The Old Spanish word alcarchofa was variously modified as it passed through Italian, a northern dialect form being articiocco, the source of the English word. It was further modified in English, where a potpourri of spellings and explanations are found since its appearance early in the 16th century. For example, people who did not know the long history of the word explained it by the notion that the flower had a "choke," that is, something that chokes, in its "heart." |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Artichoke
Ar"ti*choke\, n. [It. articiocco, perh. corrupted fr. the same word as carciofo; cf. older spellings archiciocco, archicioffo, carciocco, and Sp. alcachofa, Pg. alcachofra; prob. fr. Ar. al-harshaf, al-kharsh[=u]f.] (Bot.) 1. The Cynara scolymus, a plant somewhat resembling a thistle, with a dilated, imbricated, and prickly involucre. The head (to which the name is also applied) is composed of numerous oval scales, inclosing the florets, sitting on a broad receptacle, which, with the fleshy base of the scales, is much esteemed as an article of food. 2. See Jerusalem artichoke.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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artichoke
1531, from articiocco, Northern It. variant of It. arcicioffo, from O.Sp. alcarchofa, from Ar. al-kharshof "artichoke." The Northern It. variation probably is from infl. of ciocco "stump," and folk-etymology has twisted the word in Eng. The ending is probably infl. by choke, and early forms of the word in Eng. include archecokk, hortichock, artychough, hartichoake. The plant was known in Italy by 1450s, brought to Florence from Naples in 1466, and introduced in England in the reign of Henry VIII.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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