cabbage

1
[ kab-ij ]
/ ˈkæb ɪdʒ /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR cabbage ON THESAURUS.COM

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.

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

Words nearby cabbage

cabana, cabanatuan, cabane, cabaret, cabaret tax, cabbage, cabbage aphid, cabbage bug, cabbage butterfly, cabbage lettuce, cabbage looper

Definition for cabbage (2 of 2)

cabbage 2
[ 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)

Words related to cabbage

sauerkraut, kale, savoy, coleslaw, broccoli, colewort

Example sentences from the Web for cabbage

British Dictionary definitions for cabbage (1 of 2)

cabbage 1
/ (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)

cabbage 2
/ (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