eruca

E1R1U1C3A1

noun

Caterpillar; larva.

Scrabble 7

Meanings

nouneruca (plural erucae)

plural erucae

  1. cookingArugula: rocket.

    Eruca, or Garden Rocket, was formerly much used as a salad herb, but has been long rejected on account of its ungrateful smell.

    1822, Stephen Reynolds Clarke, Hortus Anglicanus; or, The modern English garden, by the author of the British botanist, page 171
    1 more example

    The eruca, or rocket, so called from the Greek, […] was had in so great esteem heretofore, as to its efficacy in conjugal performances, that many of the antient authors, both in poetry and prose, make mention of it purely for that purpose:[…]

    1727, Stephen SWITZER, The Practical Kitchen Gardiner: Or, a New and Entire System of Directions for His Employment in the Melonry, Kitchen-garden, and Potagery, in the Several Seasons of the Year, Etc, page 276

Synonyms & antonyms

Origin

  1. Latineruca
  2. Englisheruca

Borrowed from Latin eruca, in its senses of "caterpillar" and "colewort" respectively. Cognate with arugula, rucola, rocket, roquette.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

eruca. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/eruca

MLA

“eruca.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/eruca. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “eruca,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/eruca.

Source: eruca on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.