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cabbage

1
[ kab-ij ]
/ ˈkæb ɪdʒ /
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noun
any of several cultivated varieties of a plant, Brassica oleracea capitata, of the mustard family, having a short stem and leaves formed into a compact, edible head.
the head or leaves of this plant, eaten cooked or raw.
Slang. money, especially paper money.
Chiefly British Informal.
  1. a stupid, dull, or spiritless person.
  2. a mentally impaired person who is unable to live independently; vegetable.
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Origin of cabbage

1
1350–1400; Middle English caboche, caboge, cabage head of cabbage <dialectal Old French (Picardy, Normandy) literally, head, noggin, equivalent to ca- formative in expressive words, of uncertain origin + boche;see boss2, botch2

OTHER WORDS FROM cabbage

cab·bage·like, adjective

Other definitions for cabbage (2 of 2)

cabbage2
[ kab-ij ]
/ ˈkæb ɪdʒ /

noun
Chiefly British.
  1. cloth scraps that remain after a garment has been cut from a fabric and that by custom the tailor may claim.
  2. Also called cab. such scraps used for reprocessing.
verb (used with or without object), cab·baged, cab·bag·ing.
to steal; pilfer: He cabbaged whole yards of cloth.

Origin of cabbage

2
1615–25; earlier carbage shred, piece of cloth, apparently variant of garbage wheat straw chopped small (obsolete sense)
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use cabbage in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for cabbage (1 of 2)

cabbage1
/ (ˈkæbɪdʒ) /

noun
Also called: cole any of various cultivated varieties of the plant Brassica oleracea capitata, typically having a short thick stalk and a large head of green or reddish edible leaves: family Brassicaceae (crucifers)See also brassica, savoy Compare skunk cabbage, Chinese cabbage
wild cabbage a European plant, Brassica oleracea, with broad leaves and a long spike of yellow flowers: the plant from which the cabbages, cauliflower, broccoli, and Brussels sprout have been bred
  1. the head of a cabbage
  2. the edible leaf bud of the cabbage palm
informal a dull or unimaginative person
informal, offensive a person who has no mental faculties and is dependent on others for his or her subsistence

Word Origin for cabbage

C14: from Norman French caboche head; perhaps related to Old French boce hump, bump, Latin caput head

British Dictionary definitions for cabbage (2 of 2)

cabbage2
/ (ˈkæbɪdʒ) British slang /

noun
snippets of cloth appropriated by a tailor from a customer's material
verb
to steal; pilfer

Word Origin for cabbage

C17: of uncertain origin; perhaps related to Old French cabas theft
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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