leaf

Pronunciation

• IPA: /liːf/ (UK); /lif/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old English lēaf (“leaf of a plant; page of a book”),^[2][3][4][5] from Proto-Germanic *laubą,^[2][3] cognate with Old Frisian lāf, Dutch loof, German Laub (“foliage”), Old Norse lauf and Gothic 𐌻𐌰𐌿𐍆𐍃 (laufs),^[2][3][4] perhaps from PIE Proto-Indo-European *leub(h)- (“to peel off, strip”);^[3][2] Hoad finds no certain cognates outside Germanic.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

A leaf of a plant, and a page of a book: Old English, before 725 in Barnhart, about 825 in the OED.^[2][6]

Semantic evolution

Very thin sheets of metal, especially gold, are leaf from the late 14th century.^[3] A hinged flap or extension of a table is from the 1550s.^[3] The leaves of tobacco and of other plants used for smoking are from before 1618, and tea leaves follow.^[6] To turn over a new leaf, to begin a better life, is from the 1590s (turn the leaf by the 1570s), from the book sense.^[3] The verb, to put forth leaves, is from 1611, and to turn the pages of a book from the 1660s.^[5][3]

Timeline

• before 725 – a leaf; a page.^[2]
• late 14th century – gold leaf.^[3]
• 1550s – a table leaf.^[3]
• 1570s – turn the leaf.^[3]
• 1611 – the verb, to put forth leaves.^[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A flat, usually green part of a plant growing from a stem, which makes food by photosynthesis.
2. A single sheet of a book, with a page on each side.
3. Metal beaten into a very thin sheet: gold leaf.
4. A hinged or removable section of a table.

Verb

1. To turn over pages quickly, usually with through.
2. To put out leaves.

Word family

• leafless
• leaflike
• broadleaf
• cloverleaf
• copper-leaf
• endleaf
• fanleaf
• flannel-leaf

Related words

• leaflet
• leafy
• foliage
• lodge
• lobby

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press