lettuce Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun informal terms for money
    moolah; wampum; clams; gelt; kale; lucre; sugar; dinero; simoleons; loot; boodle; dough; shekels; scratch; cabbage; pelf; lolly; bread.
  2. noun any of various plants of the genus Lactuca
  3. noun leaves of any of various plants of Lactuca sativa

WordNet

Let"tuce noun
Etymology
OE. letuce, prob. through Old French from some Late Latin derivative of L. lactuca lettuce, which, according to Varro, is fr. lac, lactis, milk, on account of the milky white juice which flows from it when it is cut: cf. F. laitue. Cf. Lacteal, Lactucic.
Definitions
  1. (Bot.) A composite plant of the genus Lactuca (L. sativa), the leaves of which are used as salad. Plants of this genus yield a milky juice, from which lactucarium is obtained. The commonest wild lettuce of the United States is L. Canadensis.

Webster 1913