spinach
pronunciation
How to pronounce spinach in British English:
UK [ˈspɪnɪtʃ]
How to pronounce spinach in American English:
US [ˈspɪnɪtʃ]
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- Noun:
- southwestern Asian plant widely cultivated for its succulent edible dark green leaves
- dark green leaves; eaten cooked or raw in salads
Word Origin
- spinach
- spinach: [16] The ultimate origin of the word spinach is Persian aspanākh, which passed via Arabic isfināj, medieval Latin spinachia, and Spanish espinaca into Old French as espinache. Middle Dutch borrowed this as spinaetse, the probable source of English spinach. It has been speculated that the change of form from Arabic to Latin may have been partly motivated by the ‘spiny’ seeds of certain types of spinach.
- spinach (n.)
- c. 1400 (late 13c. as a surname), from Anglo-French spinache, Old French espinache (14c., Modern French épinard, from a form with a different suffix), from Old Provençal espinarc, which perhaps is via Catalan espinac, from Andalusian Arabic isbinakh, from Arabic isbanakh, from Persian aspanakh "spinach." But OED is not convinced the Middle Eastern words are native, and based on the plethora of Romanic forms pronounces the origin "doubtful." Popeye, the spinach-eating superman, debuted in 1929. Old folk etymology connected the word with Latin spina (see spine) or with Medieval Latin Hispanicum olus. For pronunciation, see cabbage. In 1930s colloquial American English, it had a sense of "nonsense, rubbish," based on a famous "New Yorker" cartoon of Dec. 8, 1928. Related: spinaceous.
Example
- 1. The spinach also contained slightly higher amounts of cesium-137 .
- 2. Spinach does more than make you strong .
- 3. Tom cole shows us how to harvest spinach .
- 4. Spinach is best when used fresh .
- 5. The steamed stinging nettles tasted something like spinach .