légume

vegetable

noun leh-GÜM Less Common

Origin: Latin legumen (pulse, legume)

Usage Note

Légume is masculine for the food item (un légume), but the informal expression une grosse légume (feminine!) means a big shot or VIP — a frozen idiom. The plural les légumes collectively means 'vegetables' as a food category. Légumineuse (legume/pulse crop) is the botanical category.

Examples

"Il mange des légumes tous les jours."

Natural Translation

He eats vegetables every day.

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