water lettuce
noun
a floating aquatic plant, Pistia stratiotes, of the arum family, having a rosette of thick, spongy leaves.
QUIZZES
DISCOVER THE INFLUENCE OF PORTUGUESE ON ENGLISH VIA THIS QUIZ!
We’ve gathered some interesting words donated to English from Portuguese … as well as some that just don’t translate at all. Do you know what they mean?
Question 1 of 11
Which of the following animal names traces its immediate origin to Portuguese?
Origin of water lettuce
First recorded in 1865–70
Words nearby water lettuce
water-laid, waterleaf, waterleaf family, waterless, waterless cooker, water lettuce, water level, water lily, water lily family, water lily tulip, water line
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for water lettuce
Like the lake, it has great patches of water-lettuce, which in some places almost bridge the channel.
This is principally formed of the water-lettuce, or Pistia, an aquatic plant with long roots which descend to the bottom.