lettuce

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English letuse,^[2][3][4] borrowed from Anglo-Norman letuse, a singular inferred from letues, the plural of letue, recorded from about 1130 (French laitue).^[5] Most other dictionaries derive it from Old French laitues, the plural of laitue,^{[4][3][6][7][8]} but the OED notes that no form ending in -s is found in continental French.^[5] The French word comes from Latin lactūca (“lettuce”),^[5][4][6] from lac (“milk”), genitive lactis, with the noun suffix -ūca, named for the milky juice of the plant.^{[5][9][7][10]} Etymonline traces lac to Proto-Indo-European *g(a)lag- (“milk”),^[4] and Merriam-Webster relates it to the Greek word for milk at the root of galaxy.^[10] The Latin word also gave lechuga, lattuga and lletuga.^[5][4] Old English had borrowed the Latin word twice, as leahtric and later as lactuce.^[5][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Any plant of the genus Lactuca, especially the garden lettuce: about 1300, in the Laud manuscript of Holy Cross.^[5] Barnhart and Etymonline give about 1300 and the late 13th century.^[3][4] In the Wycliffite Bible the Israelites eat their loaves "with wylde letuse".^[11]

Semantic evolution

From 1597, in Gerard's Herball, the word was also used with a qualifying word for plants of other genera that resemble lettuce, such as lamb's lettuce and sea lettuce.^[5][12] The proverb like lips, like lettuce, meaning that like has met its like or that people get what they deserve, echoes a Latin saying of Marcus Crassus and was used from about 1540 to 1897.^[5][13] In American slang, lettuce has meant paper money from 1903, after its green colour;^[14][5][3] Barnhart's older date was 1929.^[3] From 1963 it is also a pale shade of green.^[5]

Timeline

• c. 1300 – the garden plant, as letuse.^[5][3]
• c. 1540 – the proverb like lips, like lettuce (obsolete by 1897).^[5]
• 1597 – with a qualifying word, plants resembling lettuce.^[5]
• 1903 – slang, money.^[14][5]
• 1963 – a shade of green.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. A garden plant (Lactuca sativa) of the composite family (Asteraceae), grown for its large leaves: She planted a row of lettuce beside the beans.^[12][8][5]
2. The leaves of this plant, eaten raw in salads.^[12][5]
3. Any of several plants that resemble lettuce, such as lamb's lettuce.^[12][8][5]
4. (slang, chiefly U.S.) Paper money.^[14][8][5]
5. (obsolete, 1540–1897) In the proverb like lips, like lettuce, like suited to like.^[5][13]

Word family

• celtuce
• Bibb lettuce
• Boston lettuce
• cos lettuce
• iceberg lettuce
• lamb's lettuce
• miner's lettuce
• sea lettuce

Related words

• galaxy
• lactation
• lactose
• lactic

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
3. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
8. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
9. ^ Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
10. ^ a b Merriam-Webster's Book of Word Histories, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
11. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
12. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
13. ^ a b Skeat, Walter W.; Mayhew, A. L. (1914), A Glossary of Tudor and Stuart Words, Oxford: Clarendon Press
14. ^ a b c Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com