lettuce

English

Romaine lettuce (Lactuca sativa var. longifolia)

Etymology

From Middle English letuse, of uncertain precise origin, probably from the plural form Old French laitues, derived from Latin lactūca (“lettuce”), from lac (“milk”), because of the milky fluid in its stalks. Replaced Old English lēahtric.

(money): Likely from the green color of US banknotes.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈlɛtɪs/, /ˈlɛtəs/
• (General American) IPA^(key): [ˈlɛɾɪs], [ˈlɛɾəs]

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Homophone: Lettice
• Rhymes: -ɛtɪs
• (Philippines) IPA^(key): /ˈlɛtus/

Noun

lettuce (countable and uncountable, plural lettuces)

2. An edible plant, Lactuca sativa and its close relatives, having a head of green and/or purple leaves.

   Synonym: sleepwort

4. (uncountable, vegetable) The leaves of the lettuce plant, eaten as a vegetable; as a dish often mixed with other ingredients, dressing etc.

   I’ll have a ham sandwich with lettuce and tomato.

5. (uncountable, US, slang) United States paper currency; dollars.
   • 1960, John Updike, 'Rabbit, Run', page 26:

     To steady himself he counts the money left in his wallet. Seventy-three; today was payday. Fingering so much lettuce strengthens his nerves.

   Synonyms: cabbage, greenbacks

   Twenty dollars an hour? That's a lot of lettuce!

6. A strong yellow-green colour, like that of lettuce (also called lettuce green).

   lettuce:  

7. (uncountable, slang) weed or marijuana
8. (uncountable, slang) long hair, as worn by an exemplar of bro culture

Derived terms

• asparagus lettuce
• Bibb lettuce
• bibb lettuce
• Boston lettuce
• butterhead lettuce
• cabbage lettuce
• celtuce
• cos lettuce
• devil's lettuce
• hare's lettuce
• iceberg lettuce
• lamb's lettuce
• lettuce-bird
• lettuce edge
• lettuce edging
• lettuce hem
• lettuce keeper
• lettuce leaf
• lettuceless
• lettucelike
• lettuce opium
• lettuce trim
• lettucey
• miner's lettuce
• nut lettuce
• prickly lettuce
• purple lettuce
• romaine lettuce
• Romaine lettuce
• sand lettuce
• sea lettuce
• slender sea lettuce
• water lettuce
• water-lettuce
• white lettuce
• wild lettuce

 

Translations

an edible plant, Lactuca

• Afrikaans: blaarslaai, kropslaai
• Albanian: marule (sq), sallatë (sq) f
• Arabic: خَسّ (ar) m (ḵass)

  Egyptian Arabic: خس m pl (ḵaṣ), خساية f (ḵaṣaya)

  Moroccan Arabic: خس m (ḵuss), خس m (ḵass)

• Armenian: կաթնուկ (hy) (katʻnuk), հազար (hy) (hazar), սալաթ (hy) (salatʻ), մառոլ (hy) (maṙol)
• Asturian: llechuga (ast) f
• Azerbaijani: salat, kahı (az)
• Basque: uraza
• Belarusian: сала́т-лату́к m (salát-latúk), сала́т m (salát), лату́к m (latúk)
• Bengali: লেটুস (leṭus)
• Bole: letas
• Bulgarian: мару́ля (bg) f (marúlja)
• Burmese: ဆလတ် (my) (hca.lat)
• Catalan: enciam (ca) m, lletuga (ca) f
• Central Sierra Miwok: palá·ṭikin·a-
• Cherokee: ᎠᎪᏍᏓᎩᏍᏗ (agosdagisdi)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 生菜 (saang¹ coi³)

  Mandarin: 萵苣／莴苣 (zh) (wōjù)

• Coptic: ⲱⲃ (ōb)
• Czech: hlávkový salát m
• Danish: salat (da)
• Dutch: sla (nl), salade (nl), slaplant (nl) m
• Esperanto: laktuko
• Estonian: aedsalat
• Finnish: lehtisalaatti (fi)
• French: laitue (fr) f
• Friulian: latuie f
• Galician: leituga (gl) f
• Georgian: სალათა (salata)
• German: (cultivated) Gartensalat m, Salat (de) m; (wild) Lattich (de) m
• Greek: μαρούλι (el) n (maroúli)

  Ancient: θρίδαξ f (thrídax)

• Hausa: latas (ha)
• Hawaiian: lekuke
• Hebrew: חַסָּה (he) f (khása)
• Hindi: लेटिष (leṭiṣ), सलाद पत्ता (salād pattā)
• Hungarian: saláta (hu), fejes saláta (hu)
• Icelandic: salat (is)
• Ido: latugo (io)
• Indonesian: selada (id)
• Irish: leitís f
• Italian: lattuga (it) f
• Japanese: レタス (ja) (retasu)
• Jeju: 부루 (buru)
• Kazakh: салат (salat)
• Korean: 상추 (ko) (sangchu)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: کاھوو (kahû)

  Northern Kurdish: xes (ku)

• Lao: ຜັກສະລັດ (phak sa lat)
• Latin: lactūca (la) f
• Latvian: salāti f pl
• Lithuanian: salota f
• Low German: Slaad m
• Macedonian: салата (mk) f (salata), марула f (marula)
• Malay: selada (ms)
• Maltese: ħassa f
• Maori: rētihi
• Nahuatl: quillechuca
• Navajo: chʼil łigaii
• Norman: laitue f
• Norwegian: bladsalat
• Occitan: laituga (oc) f, lachuga (oc) f
• Old English: leahtric
• Pannonian Rusyn: шалата f (šalata)
• Persian: کاهو (fa) (kâhu)
• Piedmontese: laitùa f
• Polish: sałata (pl) f
• Portuguese: alface (pt) f
• Quechua: piliyuyu
• Romanian: lăptucă (ro) f, salată (ro)
• Russian: сала́т-лату́к m (salát-latúk), сала́т (ru) m (salát), лату́к (ru) m (latúk)
• Sardinian: lattuca f, làtua f, làtia f, latuca f
• Scottish Gaelic: leatas m, càl amh m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Roman: zelena salata f

• Sicilian: lattuca (scn) f
• Slovene: solata (sl) f
• Spanish: lechuga (es) f
• Swahili: saladi (sw)
• Swedish: sallat (sv) c, sallad (sv) c
• Tagalog: letsugas
• Taos: lecùgoʼóne
• Thai: ผักกาดหอม (pàk-gàat-hɔ̌ɔm), ผักสลัด (pàk-sà-làt)
• Tibetan: རྗེན་ཚལ (rjen tshal)
• Turkish: marul (tr)
• Ukrainian: сала́т m (salát), сала́т-лату́к m (salát-latúk)
• Uzbek: karam (uz), salat (uz)
• Venetan: salata (vec) f, sałata f
• Vietnamese: rau diếp (vi)
• Volapük: latüg
• Walloon: salåde (wa) f
• Welsh: letysen (cy), letys (cy) f pl
• Yiddish: שאַלאַטן pl (shalatn), סאַלאַט (salat)
• Zhuang: byaekaengjgwx

the leaves of the lettuce plant, eaten as a vegetable or dish

• Albanian: sallatë (sq) f, marule (sq) f
• Arabic: خَسّ (ar) m (ḵass)

  Egyptian Arabic: خس m pl (ḵaṣ), خساية f (ḵaṣaya)

  Moroccan Arabic: خس m (ḵuss), خس m (ḵass)

• Burmese: ဆလတ်ရွက် (hca.latrwak)
• Cherokee: ᎠᎪᏍᏓᎩᏍᏗ (agosdagisdi)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 生菜 (saang¹ coi³)

  Mandarin: 生菜 (zh) (shēngcài)

• Czech: hlávkový salát m
• Dutch: slaatje (nl) n, salade (nl)
• Esperanto: laktuko
• Finnish: salaatinlehti, salaatti (fi)
• French: salade (fr) f
• Galician: leituga (gl) f
• German: Salat (de) m
• Greek: μαρούλι (el) n (maroúli)

  Ancient: θρῖδαξ f (thrîdax)

• Hebrew: חסה (he) f (hasa)
• Hungarian: saláta (hu)
• Ido: latugo (io)
• Japanese: レタス (ja) (retasu)
• Lao: ຈອກ (chǭk)
• Latin: lactūca (la) f
• Lithuanian: salotos f pl
• Maltese: ħassa f
• Maori: rētihi
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: салатны навч (salatny navč)

• Navajo: chʼil łigai
• Pannonian Rusyn: шалата f (šalata)
• Persian: کاهو (fa) (kâhu)
• Polish: sałata (pl) f
• Portuguese: alface (pt) f
• Romanian: salată (ro)
• Russian: сала́т (ru) m (salát)
• Scottish Gaelic: leatas m, càl amh m
• Serbo-Croatian: zelena salata f
• Sicilian: nzalata (scn) f
• Slovene: solata (sl) f
• Spanish: lechuga (es) f
• Volapük: salad (vo)
• Yiddish: שאַלאַטן pl (shalatn), סאַלאַט (salat)

US paper currency

• Bulgarian: книжни пари (knižni pari)
• Dutch: flappen (nl)
• French: oseille (fr) f
• Greek: λεφτά (el) n pl (leftá), χρήματα (el) n pl (chrímata)
• Polish: kapusta (pl) m
• Portuguese: verdinhas f pl

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Arabic: ^{(please verify)} خَسّ (ar) (ḵass)
• German: ^{(please verify)} Salat (de) m, ^{(please verify)} Kopfsalat (de) m
• Italian: ^{(please verify)} lattuga (it) f, ^{(please verify)} insalata (it) f
• Korean: ^{(please verify)} 상치 (sangchi)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: ^{(please verify)} کاھو (kahu)

• Maltese: ^{(please verify)} ħassa f
• Mandarin: ^{(please verify)} 萵苣／莴苣 (zh) (wōjù)
• Serbo-Croatian: ^{(please verify)} salata (sh) f
• Swedish: ^{(please verify)} sallat (sv)
• Thai: ^{(please verify)} ผักกาด (th) (pàk gàat)

See also

• cabbage

Anagrams

• culette