- leaf
-
I. noun
(plural leaves; also leafs)
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English leef, from Old English lēaf; akin to Old High German loub leaf
Date: before 12th century
1.
a.
(1) a lateral outgrowth from a plant stem that is typically a flattened expanded variably shaped greenish organ, constitutes a unit of the foliage, and functions primarily in food manufacture by photosynthesis
(2) a modified leaf (as a bract or sepal) primarily engaged in functions other than food manufacture
b.
(1) foliage <trees in full leaf> (2) the leaves of a plant as an article of commerce 2. something suggestive of a leaf: as a. a part of a book or folded sheet containing a page on each side b. (1) a part (as of window shutters, folding doors, or gates) that slides or is hinged (2) the movable parts of a table top c. (1) a thin sheet or plate of any substance ; lamina (2) metal (as gold or silver) in sheets usually thinner than foil (3) one of the plates of a leaf spring • leafless adjective • leaflike adjective II. verb Date: 1611 intransitive verb 1. to shoot out or produce leaves <will leaf out in spring> 2. to turn over pages especially to browse or skim <leaf through a book> transitive verb to turn over the pages of
New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.