endive

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈɛndaɪv/, /ˈɛndɪv/ (UK); /ˈɛndaɪv/, /ɒnˈdiːv/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It comes from Middle English endyve,^[2][3][4] from Old French endive,^[3][2][5][4] from Medieval Latin endivia,^[3][2][5][4] from Medieval Greek entúbia, the plural of entúbion,^[3][2][4][6] a diminutive of Greek éntubon,^[3][2][6] from Latin intubus (“chicory, endive”).^[4][6][5] The word is perhaps of Eastern origin;^[5] Egyptian tybi “January”, when the plant grows, has been compared.^[3][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

A salad plant of the chicory genus (1373).^[2][5][7]

Semantic evolution

Etymonline notes that the original Middle English sense matched the modern American one, the blanched shoots of chicory,^[5] but confusion began when Cichorium endivia arrived in Europe from Asia in the 16th century.^[5][7] Today what the British call endive Americans call chicory, and the reverse.^[5]

Timeline

• 1373 – endyve.^[2]
• about 1440 – OED's first quotation.^[7]
• 16th century – Cichorium endivia brought to Europe.^[5][7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A plant (Cichorium endivia) grown for its crisp, slightly bitter leaves, used in salads; it includes curly endive and escarole.
2. A variety of chicory grown in the dark to form a narrow head of whitish leaves, called Belgian endive.

Word family

• Belgian endive
• French endive

Related words

• chicory
• escarole
• succory

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
3. ^ a b c d e f The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
4. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b c Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press