Celery
a plant, Apium graveolens, of the parsley family, whose leafstalks are eaten raw or cooked.
Contemporary Examples
Historical Examples
noun
an umbelliferous Eurasian plant, Apium graveolens dulce, whose blanched leafstalks are used in salads or cooked as a vegetable See also celeriac
wild celery, a related and similar plant, Apium graveolens
n.
1660s, from French céleri (17c., originally sceleri d’Italie), said by French sources to be from Italian (Lombard dialect) seleri (singular selero), from Late Latin selinon, from Greek selinon “parsley,” of uncertain origin.
[O]ne day, in a weak and hungry moment, my roommate and I succumbed to a bit of larceny. A greengrocer’s truck had parked down the street and was left unattended. We grabbed the first crate we could off the back. It turned out to be celery. For two days we ate nothing but celery and used up more calories chewing than we realized in energy. “Damn it,” I said to my roommate, “What’re we going to do? We can’t starve.” “That’s funny,” he replied. “I thought we could.” [Chuck Jones, “Chuck Amuck,” 1989]
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- Celery-cabbage
Chinese cabbage.
- Celery pine
noun a New Zealand gymnosperm tree, Phyllocladus trichomanoides, with celerylike shoots and useful wood: family Phyllocladaceae
- Celery-salt
a seasoning of finely ground celery seed and salt. Historical Examples
- Celesta
a musical instrument consisting principally of a set of graduated steel plates struck with hammers that are activated by a keyboard. Historical Examples noun (music) a keyboard percussion instrument consisting of a set of steel plates of graduated length that are struck with key-operated hammers. The tone is an ethereal tinkling sound. Range: four octaves […]
- Celeste
a female given name: from a Latin word meaning “heavenly.”. Contemporary Examples Historical Examples fem. proper name, from French céleste (11c.) “sky, heaven,” from Latin caelestis “heavenly” (see celestial).