Dictionary

leafy en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• lēfʹē
• /ˈliːfi/
• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *lewbʰ-der.? Proto-Germanic *laubą Proto-West Germanic *laub Old English lēaf Middle English lef English leaf Proto-Indo-European *-kos Proto-Germanic *-gaz Proto-West Germanic *-g Old English -iġ Middle English -y English -y English leafy From leaf + -y.

Meanings

1. Covered with leaves.
   • leafy vegetables
   • leafy trees
2. Containing much foliage.
   • The Earth is facing a climate crisis, but it’s also getting greener and leafier. According to new research, the rise is largely courtesy of China and India. 2019 February 13, Emily Dixon, “China and India are making the planet greener, NASA says”, in CNN, archived from the original on 11 Jun 2024:
   • a leafy avenue
3. In the form of leaves (of some material).
4. Resembling a leaf.
   • Another option is to wash spinach and other leafy greens thoroughly in running water before eating them. 2021 July 1, Gregory McNamee, “Does spinach make you strong? Ask Popeye – and science”, in CNN, archived from the original on 11 Jun 2025:
5. (of a place) Wealthy, middle- or upper-class.
   • In an essay for the New Yorker about her own move, also prompted by a breakup, Dunham contrasts the chaotic grit of New York with the “spaciousness” of London – a city that “doesn’t jangle me”. Dunham, as you may by now be sensing, lives in one of the leafier parts of north London. 2025 July 11, Barbara Speed, “I loved Girls – but could I trust Lena Dunham to write about London?”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 24 Jul 2025:
   • They live in a beautiful house in a leafy suburb.
   • Those are not necessarily the leafiest areas. From the tenants of Durham, £1,671,546 was used to subsidise people elsewhere. I am not familiar with Durham, it may be a very leafy place in the north-east, but I suspect that there is a need for those funds. 2008 January 23, Robert Syms, “Housing and Regeneration Bill: Exclusions from Subsidy Arrangements”, in parliamentary debates (House of Commons), archived from the original on 22 Jul 2024, column 392:
   • The Tories plan to give their all against the other Ukip defector, Mark Reckless, in the more prosperous Rochester & Strood next month. But this plays to the stereotype: Tories fighting for leafy areas, hiding from the poorer ones. 2014 October 10, Fraser Nelson, “Clacton by-election: The Tories cannot fight for leafy areas and forget the poor”, in The Telegraph, archived from the original on 22 Dec 2025:
   • Income tax payments cost the average British taxpayer £4,985 a year, but those who reside in the leafiest areas of the country pay three times this amount. 2014 July 21, Kyle Caldwell, “Income tax league table: the towns that pay the most and least tax in Britain”, in Daily Telegraph, archived from the original on 11 Jun 2015:

Forms

Deriveds

leafiness · leafy liverwort · leafy-fruited nightshade · leafy greens · leafy-stemmed · leafy vegetable · leafy spurge · nonleafy · unleafy · non-leafy · leafy goosefoot · leafily · leafy sea dragon · leafy seadragon

Synonyms

layered (in the form of leaves (of some material)) · laminate (in the form of leaves (of some material)) · foliated (in the form of leaves (of some material))

Translations (66)

nrf fieillu (covered with leaves) · la foliātus (containing much foliage) · ga duilliúrach (containing much foliage) · es frondoso (covered with leaves) · pt frondoso (containing much foliage) · nl bladrijk (containing much foliage) · fr feuillu (covered with leaves) · ga duilleach (covered with leaves) · alt јалбыракту (covered with leaves) · es hojoso (resembling a leaf) · de laubig (covered with leaves) · ca fullat (covered with leaves) · es hojoso (covered with leaves) · ast fueyudu (containing much foliage) · ast fueyudu (covered with leaves) · es hojoso (containing much foliage) · es foliáceo (resembling a leaf) · pt folhoso (containing much foliage) · it foglioso (covered with leaves) · la pampinōsus (covered with leaves) · ms rimbun (covered with leaves) · la frondeus (covered with leaves) · ga duilliúrach (covered with leaves) · pt frondoso (covered with leaves) · rup frãndzos (covered with leaves) · la foliātus (covered with leaves) · mi pūruru (covered with leaves) · it fronzuto (containing much foliage) · de blätterreich (containing much foliage) · nl loofrijk (containing much foliage) · pt foliáceo (in the form of leaves (of some material)) · ca fullós (containing much foliage) · es frondoso (containing much foliage) · nl bladerrijk (containing much foliage) · gl frondoso (covered with leaves) · de belaubt (covered with leaves) · de beblättert (covered with leaves) · fr feuilleté (in the form of leaves (of some material)) · de laubreich (containing much foliage) · es foliáceo (in the form of leaves (of some material)) · de blattreich (containing much foliage) · fr feuillu (containing much foliage) · nl gebladerd (covered with leaves) · es hojoso (in the form of leaves (of some material)) · fi lehtevä (containing much foliage) · de begrünt (containing much foliage) · la pampinōsus (containing much foliage) · ca fullós (covered with leaves) · gd duilleagach (covered with leaves) · ca foliaci (resembling a leaf) · ca fullós (resembling a leaf) · id rimbun (covered with leaves) · de laubtragender (covered with leaves) · ga duilleogach (containing much foliage) · ro frunzos (covered with leaves) · ro frunzos (containing much foliage) · de Blatt- (in the form of leaves (of some material)) · ca fullat (containing much foliage) · de blattartig (in the form of leaves (of some material)) · fi lehtevä (covered with leaves) · de blattartig (resembling a leaf) · gl folloso (covered with leaves) · ga duilleach (containing much foliage) · kaw sukĕt (covered with leaves) · la frondeus (containing much foliage) · ga duilleogach (covered with leaves)