olitory

English

Etymology

From Latin olitōrius (“of or related to gardeners, produce, or vegetables”), from olitor (“gardener, seller of vegetables or herbs”), from olus + -itō (“forming frequentative verbs”) + -or (“-er: forming agent nouns”), variant of holus (“vegetable”), from Old Latin helus, believed to come from unattested Proto-Italic *helos, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰélh₃-s ~ *ǵʰl̥h₃-és, from *ǵʰelh₃- (“to flourish; green, yellow”) +‎ *-s. Cognate with Proto-Germanic *gulaz (“yellow”).

Adjective

olitory (not comparable)

1. (obsolete) Of or pertaining to a kitchen garden; used for culinary purposes.

   olitory seeds

   • 1659 September 3, John Evelyn, letter to Robert Boyle:

     ...at convenient distance towards the olitory garden...

Noun

olitory (plural olitories)

1. (obsolete) Any plant used for culinary purposes.

References

• “olitory”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.