spinach English · revision 895

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈspɪnɪt͡ʃ/, /ˈspɪnɪd͡ʒ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|spinache]], [[bor|fro|espinache]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) probably through [[oc|espinarc]] and Spanish or Catalan, from Andalusian Arabic ''isbinākh'',^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) ultimately from [[ar|إِسْفَانَاخ|tr=isfānākh]], from [[fa|اسپاناخ|tr=aspanākh|t=spinach]].^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) The OED, however, doubts that the Eastern words are native, and calls the Romance words of doubtful origin.^(Etymonline)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The vegetable (before 1399 in Barnhart; late 14th century in Etymonline; 1530 in the OED);^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) it appears as a surname in 1267.^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A folk etymology connected the word with Latin ''spīna'' “thorn”, for the prickly seeds, or with ''Hispanicum olus'' “Spanish herb”.^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) In 1930s colloquial American English ''spinach'' meant nonsense or rubbish, after a famous ''New Yorker'' cartoon of 1928,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and Merriam-Webster also records the sense “something unwanted or spurious”.^(MW Collegiate) Popeye the spinach-eating sailor first appeared in 1929.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1267 – as a surname.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * before 1399 – the vegetable.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1530 – the OED's first quotation.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1928 – nonsense, rubbish (US colloquial).^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A widely grown plant, ''Spinacia oleracea'', of southwestern Asian origin, with succulent edible leaves.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # The leaves of this plant, eaten as a vegetable.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(US, informal, dated)'' Something unwanted or spurious; nonsense.^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[spinachy]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[chard]]

+ * [[beet]]

+ * [[kale]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}