esculent

adjective

es·​cu·​lent ˈe-skyə-lənt 

: edible

esculent noun

Did you know?

One appealing thing about esculent is that this word, which comes from the Latin for food (esca), has been around for over 375 years. If we give you just one more tidbit of etymology-that esca is from Latin edere, which means "to eat"-can you pick which of the following words is NOT related to esculent? Comestible, edacious, edible, escalade, escarole, or obese. Comestible (meaning "edible"), edacious (meaning "voracious"), edible, escarole (a type of salad green), and obese are all descendants of edere. Only escalade (meaning "an act of scaling walls") doesn't belong on the list. It descends from the Italian scalare, meaning "to scale."

Synonyms

• comestible
• eatable
• eating
• edible

Examples of esculent in a Sentence

harvesting wild mushrooms is no business for amateurs, since some of the esculent ones closely resemble poisonous varieties

Word History

Etymology

Latin esculentus, from esca food, from edere to eat — more at eat

First Known Use

1626, in the meaning defined above

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Kids Definition

esculent

adjective

es·​cu·​lent ˈes-kyə-lənt 

: fit to eat

Medical Definition

esculent

adjective

es·​cu·​lent ˈes-kyə-lənt 

: being edible

esculent noun