cress
[kres]
- any of various plants of the mustard family, especially the watercress, having pungent-tasting leaves often used for salad and as a garnish.
- any of various similar plants.
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Origin of cress
before 900; Middle English cresse, Old English cress(a), cresse; cognate with Dutch kers, German Kresse
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for cress
Historical Examples
Cress, Romaine, or bleached chicory may be used in place of lettuce.
SandwichesSarah Tyson Heston Rorer
Cress, thou wilt not do anything to Sir Richard of Gloucester?
Earl Hubert's DaughterEmily Sarah Holt
Serve on platter with meat, garnished with cress or parsley.
No cress could she find, so she thought she would turn back and go home.
The Book of One SyllableEsther Bakewell
When this is not procurable, cress makes an attractive border to a salad.
Foods and Household ManagementHelen Kinne
cress
- any of various plants of the genera Lepidium, Cardamine, Arabis, etc, having pungent-tasting leaves often used in salads and as a garnish: family Brassicaceae (crucifers)See also watercress, garden cress
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Word Origin
Old English cressa; related to Old High German cresso cress, kresan to crawl
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for cress
n.
Old English cresse, originally cærse, from Proto-Germanic *krasjon- (cf. Middle Low German kerse, karse; Middle Dutch kersse; Old High German kresso, German Kresse), from PIE root *gras- "to devour" (see gastric). It underwent a metathesis similar to that of grass. French cresson, Italian crescione are Germanic loan-words.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper