Lísteky

Lísteky is the plural form of the Czech noun lístek and, in practice, refers to multiple items that share the same name. The standard plural in most uses is lístky, while lísteky appears mainly in older texts, regional speech, or as a less common variant.

In everyday Czech, lístek has several related meanings. In botany, a lístek is a small leaf or a leaflet, especially a single segment of a compound leaf. In this sense, lístky are the individual leaflets that make up a compound leaf, such as a pinnate leaf. The term is common in descriptions of plant morphology and in field guides.

A second, widespread sense is a small slip of paper. In this usage, lístek refers to a short note, a receipt, a coupon, or a ticket. You might hear lístek to mean a cinema or travel ticket, a grocery receipt, or a sign-up slip. In everyday speech, the exact meaning is usually clear from context, and other terms like jízdenka, vstupenka, or účtenka may be used instead for more specific types of tickets or receipts.

Etymologically, lístek is a diminutive form derived from list (leaf) with the diminutive suffix -ek, extended metaphorically to small pieces of paper that resemble a leaf in function or form.

Overall, lísteky is a plural form primarily encountered as a less common variant of the more standard lístky, with meanings centered on botany as leaflets and on everyday paper slips such as tickets or receipts.