pied-leafed
|pied-leafed|
/paɪd-liːft/
having variegated leaves
Etymology
'pied-leafed' originates from modern English as a compound of 'pied' and 'leafed'. 'pied' ultimately comes via Middle English from Old French (see below) and meant 'multicoloured; marked with patches', while 'leafed' is formed from 'leaf' + the adjectival suffix '-ed' to mean 'having leaves'.
'pied' came into English from Middle English pied (from Anglo-Norman/Old French pie, from Latin 'pica' meaning 'magpie'), a word used to describe patchy or two-toned colouring. 'Leaf' comes from Old English 'lēaf' meaning 'leaf'. The compound 'pied-leafed' is a modern combinatory botanical adjectival formation in English.
Initially, 'pied' described the patchy colouring (literally likened to a magpie's plumage); over time it was applied in botanical contexts to describe variegated foliage, yielding the current sense 'having variegated leaves' for 'pied-leafed'.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Adjective 1
having leaves that are pied or variegated — i.e., leaves marked with patches or irregular areas of different colors (often white, cream, or yellow with green). Used especially in botanical descriptions.
She planted several pied-leafed varieties along the pathway to add visual contrast.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Last updated: 2026/01/10 17:52