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Etymology and origin of the Dutch word kool

kool1 cabbage

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1226–1250 Middle Dutch plant glossary
Borrowed from
Latin caulis via Middle Dutch, Old Dutch
Ultimate origin
Latin caulis
Etymology tree of kool1
inherited borrowed derived
Latin caulis
French chou
Portuguese couve
Spanish col
Dutch kool
English caul
Derivations · kool1
From the same root · kool1
English cole ← caulis
French chou-fleur ← chou

Pronunciation

Forms

kool f (plural kolen, diminutive kooltje n)[1]

Etymology

The word for the cabbage is inherited from Middle Dutch côle (also col), inherited from Old Dutch *kōla, borrowed from Latin caulis (“stalk; cabbage”), probably in a Vulgar Latin form *cōlis.[2][1][3][4] The loan was made in Roman times, and the same Latin word gave Old Saxon kōli, Old High German chōla and chōl (modern German Kohl) and Old English cāwel and cāl; Old Norse kál probably came from Old English.[2][3][5][6]

The Latin word originally meant “stalk” and is related to Ancient Greek καυλός (kaulós, “stalk”), Lithuanian káulas (“bone”) and Old Irish cúal (“bundle of sticks”), from Proto-Indo-European *keh₂u-lo- (“stalk, stick”).[2] The EWN rejects the often-claimed link with the Germanic words for hol “hollow”.[2][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is the compound col scot “cabbage sprout” (or, read as col stoc, “cabbage stalk”) in a plant glossary of 1226–1250; around 1240 a Limburg glossary renders Latin caules as kole.[2][8][9] In 1253 a Lower Rhine text advises those who want to stay healthy to avoid cabbage and milk.[8]

Semantic evolution

A West Flemish text of 1287 names witte cole “white cabbage”.[8] In 1608 roode koolen “red cabbages” and curly kinds are distinguished, and the WNT separates the plant, the vegetable as sold, and the dish made from it.[6] Kool planten “to plant cabbages” meant to live in retirement, like French aller planter ses choux.[6] From 1881 a newborn child is said jokingly to have come out of a cabbage.[6] De kool en de geit sparen “to spare the cabbage and the goat”, to keep two opposed parties content, translates French sauver la chèvre et le chou and comes from a well-known riddle.[10][6]

Koolraap (1778) is probably a loan translation of Italian cavolo rapa, and koolrabi (1854) was borrowed from German Kohlrabi.[2] The EWN takes English cole “a kind of cabbage” as probably borrowed from Middle Dutch, while Etymonline derives it from late Old English cawel.[2][11] Dutch passed the word on to Indonesian kol, Sranan Tongo koro (older kool), Papiamentu kolo (from Dutch or Spanish) and Negerhollands kool.[12][1]

Timeline

  • 1226–1250 – The compound col scot appears in a plant glossary.[2][9]
  • c. 1240 – A Limburg glossary renders caules as kole.[8][2]
  • 1253 – A Lower Rhine text warns against cabbage and milk.[8]
  • 1287 – Witte cole “white cabbage” is named in West Flanders.[8]
  • 1608 – Red and curly cabbages are distinguished.[6]
  • 1778 – Koolraap is recorded.[2]
  • 1854 – Koolrabi is recorded.[2]
  • 1881 – A baby is said to have come out of a cabbage.[6]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A cabbage, a plant of the genus Brassica of the crucifer family, grown as a vegetable in many varieties.[13][14][1]
  2. Cabbage as a vegetable, the leafy part above ground; also a dish made from it.[13][14][6]

Word family

  • bloemkool
  • boerenkool
  • koolraap
  • koolrabi
  • rodekool
  • wittekool
  • savooiekool
  • spruitkool
  • spitskool
  • zuurkool
  • koolsla
  • koolwitje
  • koolzaad

kool2 coal

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
890 Old Dutch place name Coluuidum (Koudum)
Inherited from
Proto-West Germanic *kol via Middle Dutch
Ultimate origin
Proto-Germanic *kulą
Etymology tree of kool2
inherited borrowed derived
Proto-West Germanic *kol
Dutch kool

Pronunciation

Forms

kool f (plural kolen, diminutive kooltje n)[1]

Etymology

The word for coal is inherited from Middle Dutch cole, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *kol, inherited from Proto-Germanic *kula- (“coal, charcoal”).[2][15][1] Old Dutch probably has it in the place name ⟨Coluuidum⟩, now Koudum in Friesland, literally “coal wood”, a wood where charcoal was made, recorded in 890.[2][16]

The same word is Middle Low German kōle, Old High German kolo and kol (modern German Kohle), Old Frisian kole, Old English col (modern English coal) and Old Norse kol, all meaning “charcoal, coal”.[2][15][3] Kroonen takes the neuter as primary and the feminine (compare kola (“lamp”)) as a word for a single piece of coal.[15]

Outside Germanic it is probably related to Old Irish gúal (“charcoal”), and perhaps to Sanskrit ज्वलति (jválati, “to burn”) and Lithuanian žvìlti (“to shine, sparkle”), from the root Proto-Indo-European *gʷelH- (“to burn, glow”).[2][1][4] Kroonen notes that the sense “coal” would then be an innovation shared by Germanic and Celtic, which points to a West European contact zone, since there was no common Celto-Germanic stage.[15] De Vries left open a link with koel “cool”, depending on whether the word first meant the glowing or the burnt-out coal.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Around 1240 a Limburg glossary renders Latin carbo as kole and pruna “glowing coal” as cole.[8][2][4] An excise of 1288–1301 on peat, firewood and coal (van den colen) shows it as a fuel in trade.[2][8]

Semantic evolution

In an East Flemish text of 1260 a coleman “coal man” is asked the way.[8] The WNT separates coal made from wood or peat, as in 1602, when men had to burn their own coal from the woods to forge iron, from fossil coal: in 1655 daer graeft men zwarte kolen “there they dig black coal”, and in 1608 brewers burn English and Scottish coal under their kettles.[6] Op hete kolen zitten “to sit on hot coals”, to be impatient, is recorded from 1637.[6][17]

From the black colour come the bird name koolmees “great tit” (1567) and koolvis “coalfish”, which translates the Neo-Latin Gadus carbonarius.[2] The element name koolstof “carbon”, literally “coal substance”, appears in 1787.[2] Negerhollands kool and Sranan Tongo koro took the word from Dutch.[12]

Timeline

  • 890 – The Old Dutch place name Coluuidum “coal wood” is recorded.[16][2]
  • c. 1240 – A Limburg glossary renders carbo as kole.[8][2][9]
  • 1260 – A coleman appears in an East Flemish text.[8]
  • 1288–1301 – An excise on coal (van den colen) is recorded.[2]
  • 1567 – Coolmeese “great tit” is recorded.[2]
  • 1602 – Charcoal is burned from woodland to forge iron.[6]
  • 1608 – English and Scottish coal is burned by brewers.[6]
  • 1637 – Op heete kolen zitten “to be impatient” is recorded.[6]
  • 1787 – Kool-stof “carbon” is recorded.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. coal, the black or brown substance, mostly carbon, left when organic matter burns incompletely; charcoal, hard coal or lignite.[13][14]
  2. A piece of coal used as fuel.[14][6]
  3. carbon, the chemical element.[13][14]

Word family

  • houtskool
  • steenkool
  • bruinkool
  • koolstof
  • kooldioxide
  • koolmonoxide
  • koolzuur
  • koolmees
  • koolvis
  • kolenmijn
  • verkolen
  • English cole
  • German Kohl
  • German Kohle

Usage notes

Het is allemaal kool “it is all nonsense” (strengthened as apekool) is found in Halma in the 18th century, and iemand een kool stoven is to play a trick on someone.[17] Van Haeringen notes that speakers take this kool as the cabbage, as German Kohl “nonsense” is; a derivation from Hebrew qol “voice” through students' slang he calls very uncertain, and Van der Sijs asks whether the word is Yiddish.[18][10] Het sop is de kool niet waard “the broth is not worth the cabbage” means that a matter is not worth the trouble.[13]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Philippa, Marlies; Debrabandere, Frans; Quak, Arend; Schoonheim, Tanneke; Sijs, Nicoline van der (2003–2009), Etymologisch woordenboek van het Nederlands, 4 vols., Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press; online via etymologiebank.nl
  3. ^ a b c d Vries, Jan de (1971), Nederlands etymologisch woordenboek, Leiden: Brill
  4. ^ a b c Vries, Jan de; Tollenaere, Félicien de (2004), Etymologisch woordenboek: onze woorden, hun oorsprong en ontwikkeling, 23rd ed., Utrecht: Het Spectrum, p. 205
  5. ^ Franck, Johannes; Wijk, Nicolaas van (1912), Franck's Etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal, 2nd ed., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Vries, Matthias de; Winkel, L. A. te, et al. (1882–1998), Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal, 29 vols., 's-Gravenhage / Leiden: Nijhoff / Sijthoff / SDU; supplement 2001; gtb.ivdnt.org
  7. ^ Vercoullie, Jozef (1925), Beknopt etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal, 3rd ed., 's-Gravenhage / Gent: Nijhoff / Van Rysselberghe & Rombaut
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Pijnenburg, W. J. J., et al. (2001), Vroegmiddelnederlands woordenboek: woordenboek van het Nederlands van de dertiende eeuw in hoofdzaak op basis van het Corpus-Gysseling, Leiden: Instituut voor Nederlandse Lexicologie; gtb.ivdnt.org
  9. ^ a b c Sijs, Nicoline van der (2001), Chronologisch woordenboek: de ouderdom en herkomst van onze woorden en betekenissen, Amsterdam / Antwerpen: Veen
  10. ^ a b Sijs, Nicoline van der (2005), Groot leenwoordenboek, Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale
  11. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  12. ^ a b Sijs, Nicoline van der (2010), Nederlandse woorden wereldwijd, Den Haag: Sdu; with additions from the Uitleenwoordenbank (2015)
  13. ^ a b c d e Van Dale Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands (2014), Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Uitgevers
  14. ^ a b c d e Algemeen Nederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; anw.ivdnt.org
  15. ^ a b c d Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill
  16. ^ a b Oudnederlands Woordenboek (2009–), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, Leiden; gtb.ivdnt.org
  17. ^ a b Stoett, F. A. (1923–1925), Nederlandsche spreekwoorden, spreekwijzen, uitdrukkingen en gezegden, 4th ed., 3 vols., Zutphen: Thieme
  18. ^ Haeringen, C. B. van (1936), Etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal: Supplement, 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Kool.” Etymologically, 15 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/nl/kool. Accessed 16 Nov. 2026.

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