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Glite Dictionary
Beta vulgaris cicla

Beta vulgaris cicla

6.7
A leafy green vegetable with large edible leaves and thick stalks used like spinach
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : acelga
  • We sautéed the Beta vulgaris cicla leaves with garlic for a nutritious side dish.

Examples

  • The farmer grows several rows of Beta vulgaris cicla in his organic vegetable plot.

  • I love adding Beta vulgaris cicla to my salads.

  • Many Mediterranean dishes feature Beta vulgaris cicla as a key ingredient.

  • Have you ever tried Beta vulgaris cicla in a stir-fry?

  • Many Mediterranean dishes feature Beta vulgaris cicla as a key ingredient.

  • The farmer grows several rows of Beta vulgaris cicla in his organic vegetable plot.

  • We sautéed the Beta vulgaris cicla leaves with garlic for a nutritious side dish.

Synonyms

chard
vsBeta vulgaris cicla
8 4.8

A leafy vegetable with large green leaves and thick stems eaten cooked or raw

is the formal scientific name instead of the shorter familiar form
Swiss chard
vsBeta vulgaris cicla
3 3.0

A leafy green vegetable with large leaves and thick colorful stalks

is the scientific variety name rather than the everyday common name
mangold
vsBeta vulgaris cicla
  • Archaic
6.4

A leafy vegetable with edible stems and leaves, like Swiss chard

is the botanical variety label rather than a regional or cooking name
leaf beet
vsBeta vulgaris cicla
3.5

A vegetable with large green leaves and thick stalks that people grow for its edible stems and leaves

is the scientific variety term rather than a descriptive plant label
spinach beet
vsBeta vulgaris cicla
  • UK
4.2

A leafy vegetable grown for its leaves and stalks instead of its root

is the botanical variety name rather than the culinary or folk term

Surface Forms

Beta vulgaris cicla singular
Beta vulgaris cicla plural

Morphology

beta + vulgaris + cicla

This is a Latin botanical binomial (taxonomic name) whose parts are labels rather than a compositional English phrase; knowing 'beta' as a Greek letter and 'vulgaris' as an epithet does not let a learner infer 'Swiss chard', and 'cicla' is not a transparent English word. The overall meaning is specialized, terminological knowledge rather than predictable from the constituents, so a B1 learner would not be able to derive it.

Etymology

Beta vulgaris cicla comes from old Latin plant naming: Beta is the beet group, vulgaris means 'common', and cicla points to the leafy chard form. So the name says 'common leafy beet', which helps you remember that Beta vulgaris cicla is the vegetable we call Swiss chard.