Greens

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ɡɹiːnz/

Definitions

1. Leafy vegetables commonly found in salads or side dishes, along with a concept pertaining to sustainability and eco-friendliness, while also describing vibrant natural areas filled with plant life
2. Vegetables such as kale, spinach, or lettuce often used in various dishes
3. A term denoting environmentally friendly practices focusing on sustainability

Etymology: The noun "greens" looks like the plural of the adjective "green," and that is essentially what it is. Middle English "grenes" was formed by adding the plural ending "-s" to "green," so the plural of a colour word came to name a category of food. The term is not a separate word that happened to look like a plural; it is the plural of the adjective, used as a noun. The sense of "vegetables" is shared across the North Sea region. Dutch "groenten," German Low German "Gröönten," Swedish "grönsaker," and Danish "grøntsager" all carry a similar meaning, and West Frisian "grienten" does too. Dutch and Frisian tie the word to the same colour base, so the English usage belongs to a wider family of northern European words that all treat leafy produce as "the green things."

Synonyms: vegetables, leafy vegetables