cabbage English · revision 864

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈkæbɪd͡ʒ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|caboche|t=head of cabbage]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) [[bor|fro-nor|caboche|t=head]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) from Old French ''caboce'',^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) probably from [[la|caput|t=head]].^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A head of cabbage (1391 in Barnhart; late 14th century in Etymonline; c. 1440 in the OED).^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The word ''caboche'' meant “head”, and in Norman and Picard dialect “cabbage”.^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) The change of the final sound to ''-j'' parallels the common pronunciation of ''spinach'' and ''sandwich''.^(Etymonline) The comparison of a cabbage to a stupid person's head is as old as Old French ''cabus'' “cabbage; blockhead”.^(Etymonline) It was a term of endearment from 1840, translating French ''mon chou'',^(OED 1989)^(AHD) and slang for money, especially paper money, from 1926.^(OED 1989)^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) An unrelated ''cabbage'' meant scraps of cloth kept by tailors (1663), with a verb “to pilfer”.^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1391 – ''caboche'', a head of cabbage.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * c. 1440 – the vegetable (OED).^(OED 1989)

+ * 1541 – brought to Canada by Jacques Cartier.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1840 – a term of endearment.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1926 – slang, money.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A European vegetable, ''Brassica oleracea capitata'', of the [[mustard]] family, with a short stem and a dense round head of overlapping green or purplish leaves.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Any of several similar or related plants, such as [[Chinese cabbage]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)

+ # The edible terminal bud of certain palms.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(slang)'' Money, especially paper money.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(informal)'' A term of endearment; also, chiefly British, a dull or mentally impaired person.^(AHD)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[cabbagehead]]

+ * [[cabbage butterfly]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[cole]]

+ * [[kale]]

+ * [[coleslaw]]

+ * [[capital]]

+ * [[head]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}