Theodore wrote:dstewart wrote:"Vegan" is a made-up word with no etymology. It's like "Enron," "Plaxo," and other brand names that have only the most tenuous root to their subject matter.
Yeah, apparently the word came about by taking the first three letters of the word "vegetarian" plus the last two letters, and putting them together to form the word "vegan". I believe the word was coined in the 1940's by Donald Watson. A man who spent most of his life trying to reform the vegetarian movement and with much success, IMO.
Apparently his efforts to reform the Shirley Barrett fan club were less well received, lol.
The idea is that it's the logical extension of the concept of "vegetarian," so it comes from that word.
All words are made up.