Forms: α. 6 spynnage, spenege, 7–9 spinnage, 6–9 spinage. β. 6 spynache, spinech, 6–7 spinache, 6– spinach. [ad. OF. espinage, (e)spinache (also -ace), = Catal. espinach, Sp. espinaca, It. spinace, Roum. spenac, med.L. spinachia (-achium), spinacia (-acium), of doubtful origin. Cf. MDu. spinage, -agie, -aetse (Du. spinazie, Flem. spinagie), LG. spinase, -axe, obs. G. spinacie, -asche, G. dial. spinaz, MHG. and G. spinat (whence Da. spinat, Sw. spenat).
The difficult problem of the ultimate origin of the word is complicated by variation of the ending in the Romanic languages. In addition to espinache, -age, OF. had also espinoche (still in dial. use), -oce, = med.L. spinochia, and espinarde, espinar (F. épinard), = Prov. espinarc, med.L. spinarium, -argium. Pg. exhibits the further variant espinafre. By older writers the stem of these forms was supposed to be L. spīna, in allusion to the prickly seeds of a common species. De Vic considers the various forms to be adoptions of Arab. isfināj, Pers. isfānāj, ispānāk, aspanākh (Richardson), but it is doubtful whether these are really native words. It is difficult to explain either the Romanic or the Oriental forms from the synonymous Hispanicum olus recorded from the 16th cent. and represented by older F. herbe d’Espaigre (Cotgrave).]
1. A plant (Spinacia oleracea) belonging to the N.O. Chenopodiaceæ, extensively cultivated for culinary purposes; the succulent leaves of this plant used as a vegetable.
α. 1530. Palsgr., 274. Spynnage an herbe, espinars.
1568. Turner, Herbal, III. 71. Spinage or spinech is an herbe lately found and not long in use.
1656. Earl Monm., trans. Boccalini’s Advts. fr. Parnass., I. xvi. (1674), 18. Gardners might know Nettles and Henbane, from Spinnage and Littice.
1732. Arbuthnot, Rules of Diet, in Aliments, etc. I. 249. Spinage, emollient, but not very nourishing.
1774. Goldsm., Nat. Hist. (1776), III. 4. The grass has the appearance of boiled spinage.
1808. Med. Jrnl., XIX. 38. Neither boiled spinage, nor succory, possess this quality.
1861. Bentley, Man. Bot., 623. Some are used as pot-herbs, as Spinage.
β. 1538. Turner, Libellus, Seutlomalochon,… a nostris spynache nominatur.
1568. [see above].
1578. Lyte, Dodoens, 556. This pot-herbe, or rather Salet herbe, is called … Spinache.
1671. Salmon, Syn. Med., III. xxii. 433. Spinach … is used in sallads,… and helps inflamations … of the Stomach.
1747. Wesley, Prim. Physick (1762), 71. Eat largely of Spinach.
1791. Boswell, Johnson, 11 April 1773. We had a very good soup, a boiled leg of lamb and spinach.
1839. Barham, Ingol. Leg., Ser. I. Lay St. Dunstan. St. Dunstan himself sits there … eating poach’d eggs with spinach and toast.
1883. Cassell’s Fam. Mag., Sept., 593. The winter spinach must next be thinned out.
b. With distinguishing epithets denoting varieties of the common garden spinach.
1600. Surflet, Countrie Farme, II. xix. 226. Spinage (so called bicause his seede is prickly) is of two sorts, the male and the female.
1731. Miller, Gard. Dict., s.v. Spinachia, The common prickly or narrow-leav’d Spinach. Ibid., Common smooth-seeded Spinach. Ibid., These Male Plants are by the Gardeners commonly called She Spinach.
1763. Mills, Syst. Pract. Husb., IV. 89. The oblong oval leaved spinage, commonly called plantain spinage.
1842. Loudon, Suburban Hort., 656. There are three varieties, the round-seeded…; the Flanders spinach...; and the prickly-seeded, or common winter spinach.
c. Applied (with distinguishing terms) to other species of Spinacia, or to plants in some way resembling or taking the place of this, as Australian, † Cretic, French, mountain, New Zealand, perennial, strawberry, wild spinach (see quots.).
1866. Treas. Bot., 267/2. *Australian spinach (Chenopodium erosum). Ibid. (1874), Suppl. 1343/2. Spinach, Australian, Chenopodium auricomum.
1889. Maiden, Usef. Pl., 16. Chenopodium murale,… Australian Spinach.
1753. Chambers’ Cycl., Suppl. s.v. Spinachia, The procumbent *Cretic spinach.
1842. Loudon, Suburban Hort., 657. The orache, or *French spinach … is a chenopodiaceous polygamous annual.
1822. Loudon, Encycl. Gard., 714. The Orach, or *Mountain Spinach, Atriplex hortensis.
1866. Treas. Bot., 108/2. The Garden Orache, or Mountain Spinach,… [is] a native of Tartary.
1824. Loudon, Encycl. Gard. (ed. 2), 637. *New Zealand Spinach, Tetragonia expansa.
1849. Balfour, Man. Bot., § 881. Some of them [ficoids] are used as articles of diet, as the leaves of … New Zealand Spinach.
1842. Loudon, Suburban Hort., 657. The *perennial spinach … is a chenopodiaceous perennial, a native of Britain.
1760. J. Lee, Introd. Bot., App. 318. *Strawberry Spinach, Blitum.
c. 1710. Petiver, Cat. Ray’s Eng. Herbal, Tab. vii. *Wild Spinage.
1790. W. H. Marshall, Rur. Econ. Midl., II. 443. Spinage, wild;… goosefoot.
1867. S. W. Baker, Nile Trib., viii. (1872), 120. There are several varieties of wild spinach.
2. ellipt. As a moth-name.
1832. J. Rennie, Consp. Butterfl. & Moths, 123. The Spinach (E. Spinachiata, Stephens) appears in July.
1896. Lydekker, Roy. Nat. Hist., VI. 117. The little moth … known as the dark spinach (Larentia chenopodiata).
3. In allusive use (cf. GAMMON sb.4 3).
The words gammon and spinage are part of the refrain to the song ‘A frog he would a-wooing go.’
1850. Dickens, Dav. Copp., xxii. ‘What a world of gammon and spinnage it is, though, ain’t it?’
4. attrib. and Comb., as spinach-colo(u)red, -green, -like adjs., plant, -seed; spinach-beet, moth (see quots.); spinach-stool, an evacuation of the color of spinach.
1842. Loudon, Suburban Hort., 658. The *spinach beet, leaf beet, or white beet, Bèta cicla…, a native of the sea-shores of Spain and Portugal.
1843. Thackeray, Jerome Paturat, Wks. 1900, XIII. 393. A certain Oscar… who paints *spinach-coloured landscapes.
1896. Westm. Gaz., 7 May, 3/1. A neck-band of rich bright colour, cerise velvet or perhaps orange or *spinach green.
1886. P. Robinson, Teetotum Trees, 123. I suddenly became aware of a peculiar circular movement in one of the *spinach-like plants.
1887. Cassell’s Encycl. Dict., s.v., Northern *spinach-moth,… Cidaria populata, a British geometer-moth.
1842. Loudon, Suburban Hort., 657. It has been more or less in culture as a *spinach plant since the beginning of the present century.
1763. Mills, Syst. Pract. Husb., IV. 89. The best way for those who have ground enough, is to sow their *spinage seeds alone.
1888. Goodhart, Dis. Children (ed. 3), iv. 74. The *spinach stool has commonly been said to be due to altered blood.
