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endive - 4 dictionary results

en⋅dive

  [en-dahyv, ahn-deev; Fr. ahn-deev]
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–noun, plural -dives  [-dahyvz, -deevz; Fr. -deev] .
1. a composite plant, Cichorium endivia, having a rosette of often curly-edged leaves used in salads. Compare escarole.
2. Also called Belgian endive, French endive, witloof. a young chicory plant, deprived of light to form a narrow head of whitish leaves that are eaten as a cooked vegetable or used raw in salads.
3. Furniture. an ornamental motif having the form of an arrangement of acanthus or endive leaves.
Origin:
1325–75; ME < MF≪ MGk entýbia, pl. of entýbion, deriv. of earlier éntybon < L intubum, intibum, earlier intubus chicory, endive, perh. < Sem
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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en·dive   (ěn'dīv', ŏn'dēv')   


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n.  
    1. An Indian plant (Cichorium endivia) cultivated for its crown of crisp succulent leaves used in salads. Also called frisée.
    2. Escarole.
  2. A variety of the common chicory Cichorium intybus cultivated to produce a narrow, pointed, blanched cluster of leaves used in salads. Also called Belgian endive, witloof.

[Middle English, from Old French, from Medieval Latin endivia, from Medieval Greek entubia, pl. diminutive of Greek entubon, perhaps from Egyptian tybi, January (because the plant grows in this month).]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Endive

En"dive\, n. [F. endive (cf. Pr., Sp. Pg., & It. endivia), fr. a deriv. of L. intibus, intybus, endive.] (Bot.) A composite herb (Cichorium Endivia). Its finely divided and much curled leaves, when blanched, are used for salad.

Wild endive (Bot.), chicory or succory.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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endive 
1373, from O.Fr. endive, ult. from Medieval Gk. entybon (though OED considers this a borrowing from L.), probably of Eastern origin (perhaps from Egyptian tybi "January," which is when the plant grows in Egypt).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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