a vegetable is a garden plant, portions of which are edible. For culinary purposes, the word vegetable refers to any edible portion of a non-animal living organism, be it plant, fungus or protist (several types of algae), that is not sweetened to taste. The term is also used for plants that provide us with condiments and herbs. By contrast, edible portions of plants with a sweeter taste, in the culinary sense, are fruits.
In botany, the word vegetable refers to the pod, the fruit that is specific to leguminous plants.
Vegetables are produced by means of market gardening, which is a branch of agriculture.