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American Dictionary of the English Language

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Asparagus


ASPAR'AGUS, noun [Latin and Gr. probably from to tear, from its lacerated appearance, or from the root of a spire, from its stem.]

Asparagus, sperage, vulgarly, sparrow-grass; a genus of plants. That which is cultivated in gardens, has an upright herbaceous stalk, bristly leaves, and equal stipulas. The roots have a bitterish mucilaginous taste; and the stalk is, in some degree, aperient and deobstruent, but not very efficacious.