Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun An edible plant (Allium ampeloprasum var. porrum) related to the onion and having a white, slender bulb and flat, dark-green leaves.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun Polytelis barrabandi, a small parrot, green with a scarlet breast. Also called
green-leek . - noun One of several species of the genus Allium; especially, a biennial culinary plant, Allium Porrum.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Bot.) A plant of the genus Allium (
Allium Porrum ), having broadly linear succulent leaves rising from a loose oblong cylindrical bulb. The flavor is stronger than that of the common onion. - noun in America, a plant (
Allium tricoccum ) with a cluster of ovoid bulbs and large oblong elliptical leaves.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun The
vegetable Allium ampeloprasum varietyporrum , of thelily family, havingedible leaves and anonion -like bulb but with amilder flavour than the onion.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun related to onions; white cylindrical bulb and flat dark-green leaves
- noun plant having a large slender white bulb and flat overlapping dark green leaves; used in cooking; believed derived from the wild Allium ampeloprasum
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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When we say that the leek is the asparagus of the poor, that's not nice to the leek, the asparagus or the poor man.
French Word-A-Day: 2004
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When we say that the leek is the asparagus of the poor, that's not nice to the leek, the asparagus or the poor man.
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When we say that the leek is the asparagus of the poor, that's not nice to the leek, the asparagus or the poor man.
French Word-A-Day: 2004
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When we say that the leek is the asparagus of the poor, that's not nice to the leek, the asparagus or the poor man.
Cuisine 2004
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Indeed, the leek is "l'emblème national du Pays de Galles" (national emblem for Wales)!
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The leek was a bit strong on the wine but great in texture.
Archive 2009-05-01 e d b m 2009
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I know there is that emotive issue of it being one of our national emblems but hey, the leek is a national emblem of Wales and they don't seem to have any issues about eating it.
Archive 2009-03-01 Haalo 2009
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I know there is that emotive issue of it being one of our national emblems but hey, the leek is a national emblem of Wales and they don't seem to have any issues about eating it.
Skippy Pie Haalo 2009
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The leek was a bit strong on the wine but great in texture.
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When we say that the leek is the asparagus of the poor, that's not nice to the leek, the asparagus or the poor man.
oroboros commented on the word leek
Keel in reverse.
November 3, 2007
bilby commented on the word leek
"I have a short but I hope sweet puzzle for you today. I wonder if any of you can explain the name of the following recipe which I found in Cassell's Dictionary of Cookery (1870's)?
Gingerbread Leek (excellent)
Mix thoroughly, one ounce and a half of ginger in one pound and a half of flour; add one pound and a quarter of sugar, and two ounces of peel, cut very fine. Melt together half a pound of butter, and a quarter of a pound of the best treacle. Stir these into the flour etc., flavour with three drops of essence of lemon, or more, if liked, and make the mixture into a smooth firm paste, with three eggs, well beaten. Roll out on a floured board, and cut the paste into fingers. Bake in a good oven for ten minutes. Store in a closely-covered tin box.
The only idea I can come up with is that the name is derived from the medieval ‘leach’ or ‘leche’, referring to a dish which can be sliced. The definition of this word in the Oxford English Dictionary does include a reference to gingerbread:
'A dish consisting of sliced meat, eggs, fruits, and spices in jelly or some other coagulating material. Often in adoptions of Anglo-Norman combinations, denoting particular varieties, e.g. leche frye compare Old French lechefroie, modern French lèchefrite, dripping-pan , damask leach, dugard leach, lumbard leach, purple leach, royal leach, etc. dry leach: a sort of cake or gingerbread, containing dates, etc. white leach: a gelatine of almonds.' "
- The Old Foodie, 17 June 2011.
June 18, 2011