verza

Forms

verza f (plural verze)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *virdia, a neuter plural meaning “green things”, from Late Latin virdis, the syncopated form of Latin viridis (“green”).^[2][3][4][1] Nocentini and Sabatini–Coletti see it as the popular form of classical viridia (“green plants, garden plants”), the neuter plural of the adjective used as a collective.^[5][6] The oldest records point clearly to northern Italy.^[2]

The same word is Spanish berza, Portuguese verça and Romanian varză.^[5][7] The Latin adjective is formed on vireō (“to be green, flourish”); the OLD calls it an irregular formation.^[8][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Medieval Latin verza is recorded at Verona in 1288, and the Italian word at Verona in 1487, for a variety of cabbage with edible leaves.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

In the 16th century the word was still felt as northern: Mattioli wrote that “in Tuscany we call the brassica cavolo and in Lombardy verza”.^[2][9] Michele Savonarola gives dietary advice on it, and Muratori in the 18th century discussed the name used for ordinary cabbage in his region.^[9] The derivative cavolo verzotto is in Trinci (1738), and verzotto alone in D'Alberti (1805); 14th-century Medieval Latin of Venice had verzotus.^[2]

German Wirsing “Savoy cabbage” comes from the Italian word, with the German suffix -ing; forms such as uerzi are found in Austria in the second half of the 15th century and wersich in 1588.^[10]

Timeline

• 1288 – Medieval Latin verza is recorded at Verona.^[2]
• 14th century – Venetian Medieval Latin verzotus.^[2]
• 1487 – Italian verza is recorded at Verona.^[2][3]
• 1588 – German wersich is recorded.^[10]
• 1738 – Trinci has cavolo verzotto.^[2]
• 1805 – verzotto is in D'Alberti's dictionary.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. (botany) Savoy cabbage (Brassica oleracea sabauda), a cabbage with crinkled, blistered pale leaves gathered in a large round head, eaten as a winter vegetable: Stasera faccio la minestra con la verza e i fagioli.^{[3][11][6][4]}

Word family

• verzotto

Related words

• verde
• verdura
• sverza
• Latin viridis
• German Wirsing

Usage notes

In Tuscany an old or rare verza means a long thin splinter, the same as sverza;^[9][12] Benvenuto Cellini tells how “a very thin splinter of steel” flew into his right eye.^[9][12] It is a separate word: the GDLI takes it as a shortened sverza, and Nocentini derives it from a Vulgar Latin *virgea, from Latin virga (“rod”).^[9][5] It may have an open e.^[6][4] Cavolo verza is a common name for the plant.^[3]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
3. ^ a b c d e De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
4. ^ a b c Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
5. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
6. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
7. ^ Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
8. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b c d e Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 21, 807
10. ^ a b Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
11. ^ Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
12. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET