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Artichoke - Dictionary Definition and Overview |
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Artichoke : \Ar"ti*choke\, n. [It. articiocco, perh. corrupted fr.
the same word as carciofo; cf. older spellings archiciocco,
archicioffo, carciocco, and Sp. alcachofa, Pg. alcachofra;
prob. fr. Ar. al-harshaf, al-kharsh[=u]f.] (Bot.)
1. The Cynara scolymus, a plant somewhat resembling a
thistle, with a dilated, imbricated, and prickly
involucre. The head (to which the name is also applied) is
composed of numerous oval scales, inclosing the florets,
sitting on a broad receptacle, which, with the fleshy base
of the scales, is much esteemed as an article of food.
2. See Jerusalem artichoke.
Based on WordNet (r) 2.0 (August 2003)
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