What's the difference between being vegetarian and being vegan? Many people think they mean the same thing, but they don't. A vegetarian traditionally abstains from eating meat but may consume eggs and dairy products. A vegan diet excludes all animal products.

But did you know that there are different types of vegetarians and vegans? Expand your vocabulary with the list below—and don't forget to eat your veggies!

Vegetarians

The word vegetarian is derived by combining the beginning of the word vegetable and the suffix -arian, which means "a believer or advocate." A vegetarian is a person who eats a plant-based diet. Some vegetarians also eat animal products; others do not. All vegetarians exclude red meat from their diet. See the list below for the names of different types of vegetarians.

ovovegetarian (from Latin ovum, meaning "egg")

A vegetarian who eats eggs, but not dairy products.

lacto vegetarian (from Latin lactis, meaning "milk")

A vegetarian who eats dairy products, but not eggs.

synonym: lactarian

ovo-lacto vegetarian

A vegetarian who eats both eggs and dairy products.

flexitarian (from "flexible vegetarian")

A vegetarian who occasionally eats meat.

synonym: semi-vegetarian

pescatarian (from Italian pesce, meaning "fish"; also spelled pescetarian)

A vegetarian who eats fish and seafood but does not eat poultry or red meat.

pollotarian (from Latin pollo, meaning "chicken")

A vegetarian who eats poultry but does not eat fish or red meat.

pollo-pescatarian

A vegetarian who eats poultry and fish but does not eat red meat.

Vegans

The word vegan (pronounced VEE-gan) was coined in 1944 by Donald Watson, founder of the Vegan Society. The word is derived from the first three and last two letters of the word vegetarian. A vegan eats a plant-based diet consisting of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and sprouts, but consumes no red meat, fish, poultry, dairy products, eggs or honey. See the list below for the names of different types of vegans.

fruitarian

A vegan who eats mainly fruits.

juicearian

A vegan who drinks mainly fresh vegetable and fruit juices.

sproutarian

A vegan who eats mainly sprouts.

raw vegan

A vegan who eats no food cooked above 48 degrees Celsius.

Synonym: raw foodist

freegan

A vegan who is opposed to purchasing food and tries instead to obtain food by gardening, bartering or foraging. The word freegan is derived from the word free and the last three letters of the word vegan. (Although freegans often practise veganism, they may sometimes eat meat if it is free and would otherwise have been wasted. Freegans who occasionally eat free meat are called meagans.)

To test your knowledge of terms for vegetarians and vegans, try our quiz Vegetarian or Vegan?