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Added 9 October 2026

leaf

/liːf/ noun

Categories: PlantsLanguageEveryday Words

In Latin: folium, frons Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about leaf at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

  1. The main organ of photosynthesis and transpiration in higher plants.
  2. A sheet of any written or printed material (especially in a manuscript or book).
  3. Hinged or detachable flat section (as of a table or door).

verb

  1. Look through a book or other written material.
    He thumbed through the report
  2. Turn over pages.
    leaf through a book
  3. Produce leaves, of plants.

Origin

From Middle English lef, leef, from Old English lēaf, from Proto-West Germanic *laub, from Proto-Germanic *laubą (“leaf”), from Proto-Indo-European *lowbʰ-o-m, from *lewbʰ- (“to cut off”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

Related Words: foliagethumbriffleflickflipfolioriffleafletmidribfrondfoliarleafage

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