Names, Histories and Statistics. 



191 



Derivation of the Names of Fruits and Vegetables, continued. 



Chervil. — Anglo-Saxon, cerfiUe, indirectly from a Greek combina- 

 tion signifying" '-pleasant-leaf." 

 Chives or Gives.— Latin, cepa, onion. 

 Corn.-^Anglo-Saxon, corn. 

 Cress.— Old German, kresan, to creep. 

 Cacumber. — Latin, cucumis. 



Egg-plant. — From the egg-shaped fruit of some varieties. 

 Endive. — French, endive, indirectly from the Latin mtuhus. the 



endive or chicory. 

 Garlic. — Anglo-Saxon, gar and leak, spear-leaf, referring to the 



shape and position of the leaves. 

 Gnnibo. — Portuguese, quingombo, from quiUobo, an African name. 

 Horse-radish. — Refers, evidently, to the strong and pungent 

 character of the roots by reference to the strength of the 

 horse. 

 Kohlrabi. — Corruption of the Latin caulo-rapa, stem-turnip. 

 Leek.— Anglo-Saxon, leac or leak. 

 Lettnce. — Latin, lactuca, the lettuce ; from lac. milk, referring to 



the milky juice of the plant. 

 Melon. — Latin, melo, a certain small melon. 

 Mushroom. — French, mousseron, alluding to mousse, or moss, in 



Avhich some mushrooms grow. 

 Mustard. — French, mustarde, from Latin mustum, the must, with 



which mustard was mixed. 

 Onion. — French, oignon; indirectly from Latin unus, one, unis, 

 oneness, in allusion to a plant of which the oulb was formed 

 of one piece. 

 Parsley.— From a Greek combination meaning -'rock-parsley," 



a parsley-like plant. 

 Parsnip. — Latin, pastinaca. 



Pea. — French, pois, evidently from Latin pisum, the pea. 

 Pepper, Red. — Latin , ptper, the true pepper or black pepper, with 



which the present plant is compared in pungency. 

 Potato. — Spanish and Portuguese, batata, probably an aboriginal 



American name. First applied to the sweet-potato. 

 Pumpkin.— French, pompion, from Latin pepo, a pumpkin-like 



fruit. 

 Badish. — Latin, radix, root. 



