Vege

Vege

Informal Noun & Adjective · /ˈvedʒ/ · British shorthand for vegetable or vegetarian; also: to veg out

Definition

Vege (also spelled veg) is a British informal word with two common uses. As a noun or adjective it is a casual shorthand for vegetable or vegetarian — fancy some vege with that? Are you vege? As a verb phrase, to vege out or veg out means to relax completely, doing nothing mentally demanding, often in front of a screen. The spelling vege is common in British and Australian English; veg is equally accepted.

Origin

Vege is a clipped form of vegetable, which entered English in the fifteenth century from Latin vegetabilis, meaning growing or animating, related to vegetare — to enliven. The informal clipping to veg or vege followed the well-established British tendency to shorten long words into friendly two-syllable forms. The sense of vege out — to switch off mentally — emerged in late twentieth century informal speech, borrowing the idea of a vegetative state for comic everyday use.