Webster
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Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Asparagus

As·par′a·gus (ăs·păr′ȧ·gŭs), n. [L., fr. Gr. ἀσπάραγος, ἀσφάραγος; cf. σπαργᾶν to swell with sap or juice, and Zend çparegha prong, sprout, Pers. asparag, Lith. spurgas sprout, Skr. sphurj to swell. Perh. the Greek borrowed from the Persian. Cf. Sparrowgrass.] 1. (Bot.) A genus of perennial plants belonging to the natural order Liliaceæ, and having erect much branched stems, and very slender branchlets which are sometimes mistaken for leaves. Asparagus racemosus is a shrubby climbing plant with fragrant flowers. Specifically: The Asparagus officinalis, a species cultivated in gardens.

2. The young and tender shoots of A. officinalis, which form a valuable and well-known article of food.

☞ This word was formerly pronounced sparrowgrass; but this pronunciation is now confined exclusively to uneducated people.

Asparagus beetle (Zoöl.), a small beetle (Crioceris asparagi) injurious to asparagus.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Noah Porter, editor (Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913). Public domain. Text as transcribed by MICRA, Inc., from Project Gutenberg. Changed for Deep Dive Bible: Greek, which our source spelled in Latin letters, set in Greek letters; entries of one spelling merged into one article; Greek words our source left out (shown as “?”), read from the 1898 printing, from the same plates (the Library of Congress’s copy), where the place could be found with certainty.