# asparagus
## English
### Etymology

Borrowed from Medieval Latin asparagus, sparagus, from Ancient Greek ἀσπάραγος (aspáragos), variant of ἀσφάραγος (aspháragos). Displaced Old English eorþnafola.

### Pronunciation

* (Received Pronunciation) IPA: /əˈspæɹ.ə.ɡəs/
* (US) IPA: /əˈspæɹ.ə.ɡəs/, /əˈspɛɹ.ə.ɡəs/
* Audio (US):(file)

### Noun

asparagus (plural asparagus or asparaguses or asparagusses or asparagi)
* Any of various perennial plants of the genus Asparagus having leaflike stems, scalelike leaves, and small flowers.
    Synonyms: sparrowgrass, sparagus, sparagrass
* The young shoots of Asparagus officinalis eaten as a vegetable.
* A green colour, like that of an asparagus.
    asparagus:

#### Derived terms

* asparagine
* asparagus bean
* asparagus bed
* asparagus beetle
* asparagus fern
* asparagus lettuce
* asparagus-like
* asparagus pea
* asparagus roll
* asparagus root
* aspartate
* aspartic acid
* poor man's asparagus
* sea asparagus
* sprue asparagus
* wild asparagus

#### Translations

    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

### Further reading

* asparagus on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
* Asparagus on Wikispecies.Wikispecies
* “asparagus”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

## Latin
### Etymology

Also found in Medieval Latin. From Ancient Greek ἀσπάραγος (aspáragos), variant of ἀσφάραγος (aspháragos).

### Pronunciation

* (Classical Latin) IPA: /asˈpa.ra.ɡus/, [äs̠ˈpäräɡʊs̠]
* (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA: /asˈpa.ra.ɡus/, [äsˈpäːräɡus]

### Noun

asparagus m (genitive asparagī); second declension
* asparagus; shoot, sprout-like asparagus, samphire
** c. 160 BCE, Marcus Porcius Cato, De agri cultura‎, archived from the original on 2022-04-03, chapter 161:Deinde fossulās facitō, quō rādīcēs asparagī dēmittās.Then make little ditches to drop the asparagus roots into.
** 121 CE, Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus, “Divus Augustus”, in De Vita Caesarum, chapter 87:Cōtīdiānō sermōne quaedam frequenter et nōtābilius ūsurpāsse eum [Augustum], litterae ipsius autographae ostendunt, in quibus [...] ad exprimendam festīnātae reī vēlōcitātem, celerius quam asparagī cocuntur; [...]That in daily conversation he [Augustus] often and famously used certain [expressions], his own handwritten letters show; among these, [...] to express the speed of a thing done quickly, faster than asparaguses are cooked; [...]

#### Declension

Second-declension noun.

#### Descendants

* → Albanian: shparg
* Catalan: espàrrec
* Dalmatian: spirač
* → English: asparagus
* French: asperge
* Friulian: sparc, sparg
* Galician: espárrago
* → German: Spargel
* → Irish: asparagas
* Italian: asparago
* → Polish: szparag
* Occitan: esparga
* Portuguese: aspargo, espargo
* Romansch: spargia, aspergia
* Sardinian: sparàu, isparàu, ispàrau
* Sicilian: spàraciu, spàriciu
* Spanish: espárrago
* Venetan: spàraxo, sparexara

### References

* “asparagus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
* “asparagus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
* asparagus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.

## Polish
### Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin asparagus. Doublet of szparag.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /as.paˈra.ɡus/
* Audio:(file)
* Rhymes: -aɡus
* Syllabification: as‧pa‧ra‧gus

### Noun

asparagus m animal or m inan
* common asparagus fern, asparagus grass, lace fern, climbing asparagus, ferny asparagus (Asparagus setaceus)
    Synonyms: szparag, szparag pierzasty
* shoots of Asparagus setaceus

#### Related terms

* asparaginowy
* asparagina
* asparaginaza

### Further reading

* asparagus in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
* asparagus in Polish dictionaries at PWN
* asparagus in PWN's encyclopedia

## Romanian
### Etymology

Borrowed from French asparagus.

### Noun

asparagus m (plural asparaguși)
* asparagus