leek
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leek¹
- /liːk/
Sounds like leak · Rhymes with -iːk
Where it comes from
From Middle English leek, leeke, lek, leke, leyke, from Old English lēac, lēc (“allium; garlic or leek”), from Proto-West Germanic *lauk, from Proto-Germanic *laukaz (“leek”), from *leukaną, *lūkaną (“to close, shut”), from Proto-Indo-European *lewg- (“to bend”).
Cognates
Cognate with Alemannic German Làuich (“leek”), Dutch look (“leek”), Plautdietsch Luak (“leek”), German Lauch (“leek”), Danish løg (“onion”), Faroese leykur (“onion”), Icelandic laukur (“garlic, leek, onion”), Norwegian Bokmål løk (“onion”), Norwegian Nynorsk lauk, løk (“onion”), Swedish lök (“onion”), Bulgarian, Macedonian, and Russian лук (luk, “onion”), Polabian lauk (“garlic”), Serbo-Croatian лу̏к, lȕk (“onion; garlic”), Estonian lauk (“allium”), Finnish and Ingrian laukka (“onion”), Livonian lōka (“onion”), Livvi laukku (“onion”), Ludian lauk (“leek; onion”); also Gaulish lunget (“to load”), Irish fulaing (“to bear; to support; to sustain; to mountain”), Scottish Gaelic fuiling, fulaing (“to suffer; to stand; to allow; to bear”), Welsh gollwng (“to drop, release; to leak; to dissolve”), Latin luxus (“dislocated”), Ancient Greek λύγος (lúgos, “chaste tree; flexible twig, withe”), Albanian vlug (“peak”), Sanskrit रुग्ण (rugṇa, “bent, broken, checked; diseased, infirm, sick”). See garlic.
noun leeks
-
A vegetable of variety Allium ampeloprasum, having edible leaves and an onion-like bulb but with a milder flavour than the onion.
Similar: broadleaf wild leek, the Cambrian symbol, garden leek, scallion
- Any of several species of Allium, broadly resembling the domesticated plant in appearance in the wild.
Leek²
- /liːk/
Where it comes from
Perhaps of pre-Anglo-Saxon (non-Old English) origin and instead from Celtic; compare Welsh llech and Irish leac (“stone”), both from Proto-Celtic *ɸlikkā.
Recorded as Lec in 1086 (DB).
proper noun
- A town and civil parish with a town council in Staffordshire Moorlands district, Staffordshire, England (OS grid ref SJ9856).
- A village and former municipality in Groningen province, Netherlands.
- A surname.
Translations
Every language
noun vegetable
| Español | puerro, porro, poro |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 파 pa |
| 日本語 | 葱 negi |
| 中文 | 韭蔥 /韭葱 jiǔcōng |
| हिन्दी | गंदना gandnā |
| Português | porro, alho-porro, alho-poró, alho-francês |
| Français | poireau, porrée, porreau, poirée, poirette, asperge du pauvre |
| Deutsch | Porree, Lauch, Breitlauch, Winterlauch |
| Italiano | porro |
| Ελληνικά | πράσο práso |
| Română | praz |
| Русский | лук-поре́й luk-poréj, поре́й poréj |
| Tiếng Việt | tỏi tây |
| العربية | كُرَّاث kurrāṯ |
| עברית | כְּרֵשָׁה kreshá |
Talk about this word "leek." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/leek. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. leek. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/leek "leek." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/leek.Cite this
@misc{leek_2026,
title = {leek},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/leek},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
