Lattich

German

Etymology

From Middle High German latech, leteche, from Old High German latihha, lattuhha, from Latin lactuca (“lettuce”). Possibly through a Proto-West Germanic *ladukā ~ *lahtukā, though the wide variety of West Germanic forms makes such a reconstruction difficult.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlatɪç/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

Lattich m (strong, genitive Lattichs or Lattiches, plural Lattiche)

1. (chiefly biology or regional) lettuce

   Synonym: Salat

   • 1862, Deutobold Symbolizetti Allegoriowitsch Mystifizinsky [pseudonym; Friedrich Theodor Vischer], Faust. Der Tragödie dritter Teil, 1. Akt, 2. Auftritt:

     Mit tiefem Atemzug zu Tisch dann endlich sitzt
     Und findet da das traur'ge Einerlei,
     Kartoffel, Lattich, fade Pflanzenkost
     Und nur am Sonntag dünnen Apfelmost.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Usage notes

• Outside of biological terminology, Lattich is occasionally used in Standard German to distinguish the plant from salad as a dish, but the word is absent from the vernaculars of most regions and not universally understood.

Declension

Declension of Lattich [masculine, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Lattich	die	Lattiche
genitive	eines	des	Lattichs, Lattiches	der	Lattiche
dative	einem	dem	Lattich, Lattiche1	den	Lattichen
accusative	einen	den	Lattich	die	Lattiche

¹Now rare, see notes.

Derived terms

• Huflattich

Further reading

• “Lattich” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “Lattich” in Duden online