brassica Latin · revision 31918

+ {{infobox|confidence=unknown|attested=c. 250–184 BC, Plautus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * Classical: [ˈbras.sɪ.ka]^(Wiktionary)

+ * Ecclesiastical: [ˈbras.si.ka]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''brassica''' ''f'' (genitive brassicae); first declension^(Wiktionary)

+ Some manuscripts of Varro have ''blassica''.^(TLL)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The origin is unknown.^(OLD 2012)^(TLL)^(Köbler 2010)^(Wiktionary) The TLL compares a gloss of Hesychius.^(TLL) Wiktionary reports suggestions that it is a contraction of [[m|la|praesecō|t=to cut off in front]].^(Wiktionary) Varro already explained it as ⟨praesica⟩, because it is cut off bit by bit from its stalk.^(TLL)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Köbler dates it from Plautus.^(Köbler 2010) It means a [[m|en|cabbage]].^(OLD 2012)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ It is the cabbage in its several varieties, much prized by the ancients and often used in medicine, as Cato's long praise of the cabbage, and in Columella and Pliny the Elder.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(OLD 2012) Wiktionary notes that it covers cauliflower and other varieties of the same plant.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it.^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 234–149 BC – Cato the Elder on the cabbage as food and medicine.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder on its varieties and medical uses.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|cabbage]], including cauliflower and other varieties.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}