Page:WhatIsVegetarianism.pdf/14

 C. A. Goodrich and Noah Porter (George Bell): " One who holds that vegetables constitute the only proper food for man, and who lives solely upon them. ." The word is unknown to Heyse ( 14th edition. Hannover, 1859). The of Daniel Sanders (Leipzig, 1871) defines  "Wer nur von Vegetabilien lebt," he who lives on vegetables alone. This, "solely," is not foisted in elsewhere; ,  is "Pflanzenesser," "plant-eater;" , "Pferdefleisch-esser," "horse-flesh-eater;" , "fleishfressend," "flesh-eating;" , "kannibal."

The fairest interpretation is given under "Milch-esser, Einer der sich hauptsächlich von Milch nährt, "milk-eater, one who  feeds on milk.

Littré,. Paris: Hachette, 1877:—

If we called ourselves, or , or , that would not of necessity imply the exclusive, but only the customary use of vegetable diet or of grain. Two little words continually skulk into the definition of our name— and. "Do you take tea?" "No." "Why, tea's a vegetable." So with tobacco and countless other noxious herbs. As Vegetarians, we are supposed to eat vegetable products—hemlock and the rest. You have seen that, as Vegetarians, we are commanded by Sir Henry Thompson and lexicons to eat vegetable products. Would you be surprised to learn that, as Vegetarians, looking at the word etymologically, not historically or in the light of our official definition, we are neither required to eat vegetable products, nor vegetable products, nor even vegetable products at all? Far from committing us to abstain from milk and eggs, the name derives its connexion with diet exclusively from the definition given to it by our Society.

When means an "eater of books,"  "an eater of antiques," even then  will not, cannot, mean