LEAF

I. noun (plural leaves; also ~s) Usage: often attributive Etymology: Middle English leef, from Old English lēaf; akin to Old High German loub ~ Date: before 12th century 1. a. a lateral outgrowth from a plant stem that is typically a flattened expanded variably shaped greenish organ, constitutes a unit of the foliage, and functions primarily in food manufacture by photosynthesis, a modified ~ (as a bract or sepal) primarily engaged in functions other than food manufacture, b. foliage , the leaves of a plant as an article of commerce, something suggestive of a ~: as, a part of a book or folded sheet containing a page on each side, b. a part (as of window shutters, folding doors, or gates) that slides or is hinged, the movable parts of a table top, c. a thin sheet or plate of any substance ; lamina , metal (as gold or silver) in sheets usually thinner than foil, one of the plates of a ~ spring, ~less adjective ~like adjective II. verb Date: 1611 intransitive verb to shoot out or produce leaves , to turn over pages especially to browse or skim , transitive verb to turn over the pages of