brocoli

Forms

brocoli m (plural brocolis)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Italian broccoli, the plural of broccolo (“sprout or flower head of cabbage and other vegetables”),^[2][3][4][5] a diminutive with the suffix -olo of brocco (“shoot, sprout”).^[2][3][1] The Italian word has the same origin as French broche:^[3][6] Wiktionary traces it to Latin broccus, a word of Gaulish origin.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in 1560, after Delboulle's collections, for an Italian variety of cabbage.^[2][3][4]

Semantic evolution

By extension the Dictionnaire de Trévoux (1740) uses it for the young shoot that an old cabbage stalk puts out after winter.^[2][3][6] The DHLF thinks that some modern uses were probably borrowed again from American English, which had taken the word from Italian, since English-speaking cooking makes much use of the vegetable.^[3]

Timeline

• 1560 – First recorded, for a cabbage of Italy.^[2][3]
• 1740 – The Dictionnaire de Trévoux uses it for the young shoot of an old cabbage.^[2][3]
• 1775 – Valmont de Bomare records it.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. broccoli: a cabbage originally from Italy, eaten for its green flower heads.^[7][2][8]
2. (dated) A young leafy shoot of an old cabbage after winter.^[2][6][8]

Related words

• broche
• Italian broccoli

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 1, 548a
6. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
7. ^ Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse