spinach

American  

[spin-ich] / ˈspɪn ɪtʃ /

noun

1. a plant, Spinacia oleracea, cultivated for its edible, crinkly or flat leaves.

2. the leaves.

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spinach British  

/ -ɪtʃ, ˈspɪnɪdʒ /

noun

1. a chenopodiaceous annual plant, Spinacia oleracea, cultivated for its dark green edible leaves

2. the leaves of this plant, eaten as a vegetable

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Other Word Forms

• spinachlike adjective

Etymology

Origin of spinach

First recorded in 1400–50; Middle English spinache, spinage, spinarch, from Anglo-French spinache, from Old French espinache, espinage, espinoche, from Medieval Latin spinargium, spinachium, spinarchium, ultimately from Arabic isfānākh, isfināj, perhaps from Persian isfānāj, ispānāk, aspānāk

Example Sentences

It’s like when parents get their children to eat spinach by hiding it inside pancakes.

From The Wall Street Journal

Meanwhile, spinach held the list’s top spot for the second year in a row, containing more pesticide residues by weight than any other type of produce.

From Salon

It wiped out billions in agricultural crops, killing off whole fields of spinach in a half-day.

From Los Angeles Times

Smog, however, could kill off a spinach crop in half a day.

From Los Angeles Times

Did the sea kelp—immediately frozen after it’s harvested, resembling chopped spinach—arrive safely to New York from Vancouver Island?

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• blue-green
• olive