What does leek mean?

Definitions for leek
likleek

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word leek.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. leek, scallion, Allium porrumnoun

    plant having a large slender white bulb and flat overlapping dark green leaves; used in cooking; believed derived from the wild Allium ampeloprasum

  2. leeknoun

    related to onions; white cylindrical bulb and flat dark-green leaves

Wiktionary

  1. leeknoun

    The vegetable Allium ampeloprasum variety porrum, of the lily family, having edible leaves and an onion-like bulb but with a milder flavour than the onion

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. Leeknoun

    Its flower consists of six pedals, and is shaped, as it were, like a bell; in the center arises the pointal, which afterward becomes a roundish fruit, divided into three cells, which contain roundish seeds: to these notes may be added, the stamina are generally broad and flat, ending in three capillaments, of which the middle one is furnished with a chive; the flowers are also gathered into almost globular bunches: the roots are long, cylindrical, and coated, the coats ending in plain leaves. Philip Miller

    Etymology: leac , Saxon; loock, Dutch; leechk, Erse.

    Know’st thou Fluellen? —— Yes.
    —— Tell him I’ll knock his leek about his pate,
    Upon St. David’s day. William Shakespeare, Henry V.

    Leek to the Welsh, to Dutchmen butter’s dear. John Gay.

    We use acrid plants inwardly and outwardly in gangreens; in the scurvy, water-cresses, horse-radish, garlick, or leek pottage. John Floyer, on Humours.

Wikipedia

  1. Leek

    The leek is a vegetable, a cultivar of Allium ampeloprasum, the broadleaf wild leek (syn. Allium porrum). The edible part of the plant is a bundle of leaf sheaths that is sometimes erroneously called a stem or stalk. The genus Allium also contains the onion, garlic, shallot, scallion, chive, and Chinese onion. Three closely related vegetables, elephant garlic, kurrat and Persian leek or tareh, are also cultivars of A. ampeloprasum, although different in their uses as food.

ChatGPT

  1. leek

    A leek is a plant of the onion family that is used in cooking for its long, white stalk that has a sweet, onion-like flavor. It has flat, green leaves and a bulbous root but only the white and light green parts are typically consumed. Leeks are commonly used in soups, stews, and other dishes for added flavor.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Leeknoun

    a plant of the genus Allium (A. Porrum), having broadly linear succulent leaves rising from a loose oblong cylindrical bulb. The flavor is stronger than that of the common onion

  2. Etymology: [AS. lec; akin to D. look, G. lauch, OHG. louh, Icel. laukr, Sw. lk, Dan lg. Cf. Garlic.]

Wikidata

  1. Leek

    The leek is a vegetable that belongs, along with onion and garlic, to the genus Allium, currently placed in family Amaryllidaceae, subfamily Allioideae. Historically many scientific names were used for leeks, which are now treated as cultivars of Allium ampeloprasum. Two related vegetables, elephant garlic and kurrat, are also cultivars of A. ampeloprasum, although different in their uses as food. The edible part of the leek plant is a bundle of leaf sheaths that is sometimes erroneously called a stem or stalk.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Leek

    lēk, n. a well-known biennial species of the onion family, esteemed for cooking—national emblem of Wales.—Eat the leek, to be compelled to take back one's words or put up with insulting treatment—from the scene between Fluellen and Pistol in Henry V. [A.S. leác, a leek, a plant, present also in Char-lock, Gar-lic, Hem-lock.]

Military Dictionary and Gazetteer

  1. leek

    The Welsh emblem, in consequence of a command from Dewi, or David, afterwards archbishop of St. David’s, in 519. On the day that King Arthur won a great victory over the Saxons, Dewi is said to have ordered the soldiers to place a leek in their caps.

Surnames Frequency by Census Records

  1. LEEK

    According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Leek is ranked #9991 in terms of the most common surnames in America.

    The Leek surname appeared 3,228 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 would have the surname Leek.

    85.2% or 2,752 total occurrences were White.
    9.7% or 315 total occurrences were Black.
    1.6% or 53 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
    1.5% or 51 total occurrences were of two or more races.
    1.4% or 46 total occurrences were Asian.
    0.3% or 11 total occurrences were American Indian or Alaskan Native.

Matched Categories

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

How to pronounce leek?

How to say leek in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of leek in Chaldean Numerology is: 6

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of leek in Pythagorean Numerology is: 6

Popularity rank by frequency of use

leek#10000#37779#100000

Translations for leek

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

Get even more translations for leek »

Translation

Find a translation for the leek definition in other languages:

Select another language:

  • - Select -
  • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
  • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
  • Español (Spanish)
  • Esperanto (Esperanto)
  • 日本語 (Japanese)
  • Português (Portuguese)
  • Deutsch (German)
  • العربية (Arabic)
  • Français (French)
  • Русский (Russian)
  • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
  • 한국어 (Korean)
  • עברית (Hebrew)
  • Gaeilge (Irish)
  • Українська (Ukrainian)
  • اردو (Urdu)
  • Magyar (Hungarian)
  • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
  • Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Italiano (Italian)
  • தமிழ் (Tamil)
  • Türkçe (Turkish)
  • తెలుగు (Telugu)
  • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
  • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
  • Čeština (Czech)
  • Polski (Polish)
  • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Românește (Romanian)
  • Nederlands (Dutch)
  • Ελληνικά (Greek)
  • Latinum (Latin)
  • Svenska (Swedish)
  • Dansk (Danish)
  • Suomi (Finnish)
  • فارسی (Persian)
  • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
  • հայերեն (Armenian)
  • Norsk (Norwegian)
  • English (English)

Word of the Day

Would you like us to send you a FREE new word definition delivered to your inbox daily?

Please enter your email address:


Citation

Use the citation below to add this definition to your bibliography:

Style:MLAChicagoAPA

"leek." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 18 Nov. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/leek>.

Discuss these leek definitions with the community:

0 Comments

    Are we missing a good definition for leek? Don't keep it to yourself...

    Image or illustration of

    leek

    Credit »

    Free, no signup required:

    Add to Chrome

    Get instant definitions for any word that hits you anywhere on the web!

    Free, no signup required:

    Add to Firefox

    Get instant definitions for any word that hits you anywhere on the web!

    Quiz

    Are you a words master?

    »
    a small contrasting part of something
    A congius
    B hypostatization
    C maculation
    D swathing

    Nearby & related entries:

    Alternative searches for leek: