leek

leek

any of various perennial, onionlike, wild or garden vegetables (genus Allium, esp. A. porrum) of the lily family, having a small bulb with a cylindrical stem, and broad, flat, folded leaves: used in soups, sauces, etc.

Origin of leek

Middle English lek from Old English leac, akin to German lauch from uncertain or unknown; perhaps Indo-European base an unverified form leug-, to bend from source Classical Latin luxus, excess: so named uncertain or unknown; perhaps from its outward-bent leaves

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"leek." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/leek>.

APA Style

leek. (n.d.). Retrieved January 14th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/leek

leek

noun

An edible plant (Allium ampeloprasum var. porrum) related to the onion and having a white, slender bulb and flat, dark-green leaves.

Origin of leek

Middle English lek from Old English lēac

leek

Allium ampeloprasum var. porrum

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Link/Cite

Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"leek." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/leek>.

APA Style

leek. (n.d.). Retrieved January 14th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/leek

Noun

(plural leeks)

The vegetable Allium ampeloprasum, of the lily family, having edible leaves and an onion -like bulb but with a milder flavour than the onion.
Any of several species of Allium, broadly resembling the domesticated plant in appearance in the wild.

Anagrams

keel

Origin

From Middle English, from Old English lēac (“a garden herb, leek, onion, garlic”), from Proto-Germanic *lauką (“leek, onion”) *laukaz, from Proto-Indo-European *leug- (“to bend”). Cognate with Dutch look (“garlic, leek”), Low German look, Look, German Lauch (“leek, allium”), Danish løg, Swedish lök (“onion”), Icelandic laukur (“onion, leek, garlic”). See garlic.