spinach

What it means

1. countableuncountableAny member of species Spinacia oleracea of edible plants, or its leaves.

   Another option is to wash spinach and other leafy greens thoroughly in running water before eating them.

   2021 July 1, Gregory McNamee, “Does spinach make you strong? Ask Popeye – and science”, in CNN, archived from the original on 11 Jun 2025

2. countableuncountableAny of numerous plants, or their leaves, which are used for greens in the same way Spinacia oleracea is or resemble it in some way.
3. countableslanguncountablegolfThick rough.

   That shot left me in the spinach!

   Synonyms: cabbage

In a sentence

Another option is to wash spinach and other leafy greens thoroughly in running water before eating them.

2021 July 1, Gregory McNamee, “Does spinach make you strong? Ask Popeye – and science”, in CNN, archived from the original on 11 Jun 2025

Where it comes from

1. Classical Persianاسپناخ
2. Arabicإِسْفَانَاخ
3. Old Occitanespinarc
4. Old Frenchespinoche
5. Anglo-Normanspinache
6. Middle Englishspinach
7. Englishspinach

From Middle English spinach, from Anglo-Norman spinache, from Old French espinoche, from Old Occitan espinarc, from Arabic إِسْفَانَاخ (ʔisfānāḵ), from Classical Persian اسپناخ (ispanāx, ispināx).