houseleek

H4O1U1S1E1L1E1E1K5
/ˈhaʊsliːk/

noun

Any of several succulent plants, of the genus Sempervivum, having a rosette of fleshy leaves.

Similar
ay-greenayegreenbullock's eyecyphelfoosefouatfouetfull
OriginMiddle English houslek ← Old English *hūslēac ← Proto-West Germanic *hūsalauk →
Scrabble 16
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Meanings

nounhouseleek (plural houseleeks)

plural houseleeks

  1. Any of several succulent plants, of the genus Sempervivum, having a rosette of fleshy leaves.

    Equal parts of the juice of house-leek, brandy and sweet-oil in a phial, to be hung up and exposed to the sun for a month or more.

    1847, editorial staff, “A Cure for Deafness”, in Scientific American, series 1, Volume 3, Issue 10, page 74

    Synonyms: ay-green, ayegreen, bullock's eye, cyphel, foose, fouat, fouet, full

Synonyms & antonyms

nounAny of several succulent plants, of the genus Sempervivum, having a rosette of fleshy leaves.

Similar
ay-greenayegreenbullock's eyecyphelfoosefouatfouetfullhealing bladehealing leafhomeworthouse-greenJove's beardjubarbJupiter's beardJupiter's eyeliveforeverseagreensedumsemper-vivens

Origin

  1. Proto-West Germanic*hūsalauk
  2. Old English*hūslēac
  3. Middle Englishhouslek
  4. Englishhouseleek

From Middle English houslek, probably from Old English *hūslēac, from Proto-West Germanic *hūsalauk. Cognate with Dutch huislook, German Hauslauch, Danish husløg, Swedish huslök. By surface analysis, house + leek.

More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Ancient Greek ἀείζωον
  • ἀείζωον (aeízōon)Sempervivum
Arabic حَيّ الْعَالَم
  • حَيّ الْعَالَم (ḥayy al-ʕālam)Sempervivum
Bulgarian дебелец, ушно биле
  • дебелец (debelec)Sempervivum
  • ушно биле (ušno bile)Sempervivum
Danish husløg
  • husløgSempervivum
Dutch huislook
  • huislookSempervivum
Finnish mehitähti
  • mehitähtiSempervivum
French joubarbe
  • joubarbeSempervivum
German Hauswurz
  • HauswurzSempervivum
Hebrew חַי הָעוֹלָם, חַי לְעוֹלָם
  • חַי הָעוֹלָם (ḥay hā-ʿōlā́m)Sempervivum
  • חַי לְעוֹלָם (ḥay lə-ʿōlā́m)Sempervivum
Hungarian kövirózsa
  • kövirózsaSempervivum
Irish buachaill tí
  • buachaill tíSempervivum
Latin aesum, sempervīvum
  • aesumSempervivum
  • sempervīvumSempervivum
  • stergethronSempervivum
Polish rojnik
  • rojnikSempervivum
Portuguese sempre-viva
  • sempre-vivaSempervivum
Romanian borșișor
  • borșișorSempervivum
Russian молоди́ло, живу́чка
  • молоди́ло (molodílo)Sempervivum
  • живу́чка (živúčka)Sempervivum
  • ка́менная ро́за (kámennaja róza)Sempervivum
Spanish siempreviva
  • siemprevivaSempervivum
Swedish taklök
  • taklökSempervivum
Welsh llysiau pen tai
  • llysiau pen taiSempervivum
Cite this entry
APA

houseleek. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/houseleek

MLA

“houseleek.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/houseleek. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “houseleek,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/houseleek.

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