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Glite Dictionary
French spinach

French spinach

9.4
A leafy plant like spinach that people grow to eat and that often grows wild in gardens
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : espinazo francés
  • Many gardeners grow French spinach for its tender leaves in the spring.

Examples

  • You can use French spinach in recipes just like regular spinach.

  • French spinach has become established in some gardens across the United States.

  • I love adding French spinach to my salads.

  • Have you ever tried French spinach in a stir-fry?

  • Many gardeners grow French spinach for its tender leaves and flavor in spring dishes.

  • You can use French spinach in recipes just like you would with traditional spinach.

  • I love adding French spinach to my salads for extra texture and nutrition.

Synonyms

Chenopodium bonus-henricus
vsFrench spinach
  • Specialized
9.9

A leafy green plant like spinach that grows for several years and is eaten as a vegetable

is the common culinary name used instead of the scientific botanical name
Good-King-Henry
vsFrench spinach
9.9

A leafy plant with edible young leaves used like spinach

is the culinary or regional common name rather than the formal botanical name

Surface Forms

French spinach singular
French spinaches plural

Morphology

French + spinach

The noun phrase is a straightforward attributive combination: 'French' modifies 'spinach', so a learner who knows both words will reasonably infer it denotes a type or variety of spinach (a plant/herb). The specific botanical referent (Good King Henry) is a lexical detail but does not prevent the meaning being transparently compositional and predictable from the constituents.

Etymology

French spinach may come from cooks who used this wild leafy plant the same way as real spinach, and it was often eaten in France or in a French style. That's why the name now means 'a leafy plant used like spinach'.