mushroom
n. countablen. a type of fungus that has a stem and a round top. Some kinds are good to eat, but others can be dangerous.
n. the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or on its food source.
I added some sliced mushroom to the pasta sauce.
After the heavy rain, several small white mushrooms appeared on the lawn overnight.
Foraging for wild mushrooms requires extensive knowledge, as many edible species have toxic look-alikes that can cause severe illness if consumed.
From Middle English muscheron, musseron, from Anglo-Norman musherum, moscheron, from Old French moisseron, of obscure origin: probably derived from Old French mosse, moise ("moss"; whence also French mousse), as the use first applied to a type of fungus which grows in moss, from Frankish mosu (“moss”) or Old Dutch mosa (“moss”), akin to Old High German mosa (“moor, swamp”), Old High German mos (“moss, bog”), Old High German mios (“moss, mire”), Old English mēos (“moss”), Old English mōs (“bog, marsh”), Old Norse mosi (“moss”), Old Norse myrr (“bog, mire”), from Proto-Germanic musą, musô, miuziz (“mosses, bog”), from Proto-Indo-European mews- (“mosses, mold, mildew”). Displaced native Old English swamm. More at mire. Alternatively, the Old French may be of pre-Roman origin. See Ancient Greek μύκης (múkēs, “mushroom”). Doublet of moss and mousse.