salsify
sə noun, plural sal·si·fies.
a purple-flowered, composite plant, Tragopogon porrifolius, whose root has an oyster-like flavor and is used as a culinary vegetable.
Also called oyster plant, vegetable oyster.
Origin:
1690–1700; < French salsifis, variant of sassefy, sassef(r)ique < Italian sassef(r)ica) < ?
1690–1700; < French salsifis, variant of sassefy, sassef(r)ique < Italian sassef(r)ica) < ?
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To salsify
Collins
World English Dictionary
salsify (ˈsælsɪfɪ) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n , pl -fies | |
| 1. | oyster plant, Also called: vegetable oyster a Mediterranean plant, Tragopogon porrifolius, having grasslike leaves, purple flower heads, and a long white edible taproot: family Asteraceae (composites) |
| 2. | the root of this plant, which tastes of oysters and is eaten as a vegetable |
| [C17: from French salsifis, from Italian sassefrica, from Late Latin saxifrica, from Latin saxum rock + fricāre to rub] | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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00:10
Salsify
is always a great word to know.
So is quincunx. Does it mean:
| a chattering or flighty, light-headed person. |
| an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle. |
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
salsify
biennial plant, 1675, from Fr. salsifis, earlier sercifi, sassify (16c.), probably from It. erba salsifica, from O.It. salsifica, of uncertain origin, perhaps from L. sal "salt" + fricare "to rub."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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