# cress

> English word · Noun · IPA /kɹɛs/ · frequency rank #53,471

## Definitions
1. A plant of various species, chiefly cruciferous. The leaves have a moderately pungent taste, and are used as a salad and antiscorbutic.

## Etymology
From Middle English cresse, crasse, from Old English cressa, cærse (“cress”), from Proto-West Germanic *krassjō, from Proto-Germanic *krasjô (“cress”). Cognate with West Frisian kers (“cress”), Dutch kers (“cress”), German Kresse (“cress”), Danish karse (“cress”), Swedish krasse (“cress”), Icelandic krassi (“cress”).

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/cress