Meanings
cabbage1
nouncabbage (countable and uncountable, plural cabbages)
plural cabbages
- countableuncountableAn edible plant (Brassica oleracea var. capitata) having a head of green leaves.
In aphrodisiac preparation, wild cabbage was frequently an ingredient.
1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page 53- broadlycountableuncountableAny of various cultivars of the species Brassica oleracea.
- countableoffensiveA person with severely reduced mental capacities due to brain damage.
After the car crash, he became a cabbage.
- countableuncountableUsed as a term of endearment.
If you deceive me, Yasha, I don't know if my nerves could stand it. YASHA (kissing her) My little cabbage! Of course, a girl must know her place.
2009, Tom Stoppard, Helen Rappaport, The Cherry Orchard, translation of Вишнëвый сад ("Vishniovy sad") by Anton Chekhov, published 1904, page 31 - slanguncountableMoney.
- slanguncountableMarijuana leaf, the part that is not smoked but from which cannabutter can be extracted.
- countableuncountableA cabbage palmetto (Sabal palmetto), a palm of the southeastern US coasts and nearby islands.
- countableslanguncountableAfrican-American VernacularA human head.
American made choppas / You beefin', we split ya cabbage
2024, “Cult Status”, performed by JPEGMAFIA
verbcabbage (third-person singular simple present cabbages, present participle cabbaging, simple past and past participle cabbaged)
present singular third person cabbages · participle present cabbaging · participle past cabbaged · past cabbaged
- intransitiveTo form a head like that of the cabbage.
to make lettuce cabbage
- intransitiveslangTo do nothing; to idle; veg out.
How effective the project was is a moot point, because there were never any studies carried out to see whether children benefited from cabbaging in front of the TV rather than interacting with a teacher.
2006, Steve Mckevitt, Why the World Is Full of Useless Things, page 38 - slangAfrican-American VernacularTo be killed or murdered, such as by being shot in the head.
cabbage2
nouncabbage (uncountable)
- slanguncountableScraps of cloth which are left after a garment has been cut out, which tailors traditionally kept.
verbcabbage (third-person singular simple present cabbages, present participle cabbaging, simple past and past participle cabbaged)
present singular third person cabbages · participle present cabbaging · participle past cabbaged · past cabbaged
- transitiveTo embezzle or purloin; to pilfer, to steal.
[Y]our Butler purloins your Liquor, and your Brevver ſells your Hogvvaſh; […] your Taylor, inſtead of Shreds, cabages vvhole Yards of Cloth; […]
1733, Humphry Polesworth [pseudonym; John Arbuthnot], Alexander Pope, compiler, “Law is a Bottomless Pit. Or, The History of John Bull. […]. [The First Part.] Chapter X. Of John Bull’s Second Wife, and the Good Advice that She Gave Him.”, in Miscellanies, 2nd edition, volume II, London: […] Benjamin Motte, […], →OCLC, page 301 more example
We toted in the wood and got the fire going nice and comfortable. Lord James still set in one of the chairs and Applegate had cabbaged the other and was hugging the stove.
1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter VIII, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC
Synonyms & antonyms
nounSynonym of spinach (“thick rough”).
Similar
plant
Similar
cabbage plant
Similar
person with severely reduced mental capacities due to brain damage
More synonyms by meaning
nouninformal terms for money
Similar
Broader
nounany of various cultivars of the genus Brassica oleracea grown for their edible leaves or flowers
Similar
cultivated cabbageBrassica oleracea
Broader
crucifercruciferous plant
verbmake off with belongings of others
Also see
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Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
cabbage · noun, verb
- Old Frenchcaboce
- Anglo-Normancaboche
- Middle Englishcaboche
- Englishcabbage
From Middle English caboche, cabage (“cabbage”; “a certain fish”), a borrowing from Anglo-Norman caboche (“head”), a northern variant of caboce, of uncertain origin. Some authorities derive it from Latin caput (“head”), others from ca- (said to be an expressive prefix) + boce (“hump; bump”) (whence English boss).
More words from Middle English, Latin
Full word history & related roots →cabbage · noun, verb
- Dutch*kabbassen
- Englishcabbage
Unclear. Perhaps from Dutch *kabbassen, from Old French cabasser (“put into a basket”), from cabas. Alternatively, perhaps from an earlier word *carbage (“shred”), a potential variant of *garbage (“wheat straw”).
More words from Dutch
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans kool
- koolany of various cultivars
Ancient Greek κράμβη, κράμβη
- κράμβη (krámbē)any of various cultivars
- κράμβη (krámbē)leaves of this plant eaten as a vegetable
Arabic مَلْفُوف, كُرُنْب
- مَلْفُوف (malfūf)specific cultivar
- كُرُنْب (kurunb)specific cultivar
- مَلْفُوف (malfūf)leaves of this plant eaten as a vegetable
- كُرُنْب (kurunb)leaves of this plant eaten as a vegetable
Basque aza
- azaspecific cultivar
Bulgarian зе́ле, кни́жни пари́
- зе́ле (zéle)leaves of this plant eaten as a vegetable
- кни́жни пари́ (knížni parí)money
Catalan col
- colany of various cultivars
Chinese Cantonese 椰菜, 植物人
- 椰菜 (je⁴ coi³)specific cultivar
- 植物人 (zik⁶ mat⁶ jan⁴)person with severely reduced mental capacities due to brain damage
Chinese Mandarin 捲心菜 /卷心菜, 高麗菜 /高丽菜
- 捲心菜 /卷心菜 (juǎnxīncài)specific cultivar
- 高麗菜 /高丽菜 (gāolícài)specific cultivar
- 洋白菜 (yángbáicài)specific cultivar
- 包心菜 (bāoxīncài)specific cultivar
- 結球甘藍 /结球甘蓝 (jiéqiú gānlán)specific cultivar
- 疙瘩白 (gēdabái)specific cultivar
- 包菜 (bāocài)specific cultivar
- 圓白菜 /圆白菜 (yuánbáicài)specific cultivar
- 蓮花白 /莲花白 (liánhuābái)specific cultivar
- 捲心菜 /卷心菜 (juǎnxīncài)leaves of this plant eaten as a vegetable
- 植物人 (zhíwùrén)person with severely reduced mental capacities due to brain damage
- 錢 /钱 (qián)money
Czech zelí
- zelíleaves of this plant eaten as a vegetable
Danish kål, kål
- kålany of various cultivars
- kålleaves of this plant eaten as a vegetable
Dutch kool, kool
- koolany of various cultivars
- koolleaves of this plant eaten as a vegetable
- plantperson with severely reduced mental capacities due to brain damage
Esperanto brasiko, brasiko
- brasikoany of various cultivars
- brasikoleaves of this plant eaten as a vegetable
Estonian kapsas, kapsas
- kapsasany of various cultivars
- kapsasleaves of this plant eaten as a vegetable
Finnish keräkaali, kaali
- keräkaalispecific cultivar
- kaalispecific cultivar
- kaaliany of various cultivars
- vihanneskaaliany of various cultivars
- kaalileaves of this plant eaten as a vegetable
- vihannesperson with severely reduced mental capacities due to brain damage
- hillomoney
French chou, chou
- chouany of various cultivars
- chouleaves of this plant eaten as a vegetable
German Kopfkohl, Kohl
- Kopfkohlspecific cultivar
- Kohlany of various cultivars
- Kohlleaves of this plant eaten as a vegetable
Greek λάχανο, κράμβη
- λάχανο (láchano)specific cultivar
- κράμβη (krámvi)any of various cultivars
- λάχανο (láchano)leaves of this plant eaten as a vegetable
- φυτό (fytó)person with severely reduced mental capacities due to brain damage
Hawaiian kāpiki
- kāpikileaves of this plant eaten as a vegetable
Hebrew כְּרוּב
- כְּרוּב (kruv)leaves of this plant eaten as a vegetable
Hindi पत्ता गोभी, बंद गोभी
- पत्ता गोभी (pattā gobhī)specific cultivar
- बंद गोभी (band gobhī)specific cultivar
- गोभी (gobhī)leaves of this plant eaten as a vegetable
- पत्ता गोभी (pattā gobhī)leaves of this plant eaten as a vegetable
- बंद गोभी (band gobhī)leaves of this plant eaten as a vegetable
- कोबी (kobī)leaves of this plant eaten as a vegetable
- करमकल्ला (karamkallā)leaves of this plant eaten as a vegetable
Hungarian káposzta, káposzta
- káposztaany of various cultivars
- káposztaleaves of this plant eaten as a vegetable
Icelandic kál, hvítkál
- kálany of various cultivars
- hvítkálleaves of this plant eaten as a vegetable
Indonesian kubis, kubis
- kubisany of various cultivars
- kubisleaves of this plant eaten as a vegetable
- kolleaves of this plant eaten as a vegetable
Irish cabáiste, cál
- cabáisteleaves of this plant eaten as a vegetable
- cálleaves of this plant eaten as a vegetable
Italian cavolo cappuccio, cavolo
- cavolo cappucciospecific cultivar
- cavoloany of various cultivars
- cavololeaves of this plant eaten as a vegetable
Japanese キャベツ, キャベツ
- キャベツ (kyabetsu)specific cultivar
- キャベツ (kyabetsu)leaves of this plant eaten as a vegetable
- 甘藍 (kanran)leaves of this plant eaten as a vegetable
- 玉菜 (tamana)leaves of this plant eaten as a vegetable
- 植物人間 (shokubutsu ningen)person with severely reduced mental capacities due to brain damage
Korean 양배추, 양배추
- 양배추 (yangbaechu)specific cultivar
- 양배추 (yangbaechu)leaves of this plant eaten as a vegetable
- 식물인간 (singmurin'gan)person with severely reduced mental capacities due to brain damage
Latin brassica, brassica
- brassicaany of various cultivars
- brassicaleaves of this plant eaten as a vegetable
Latvian kāposti
- kāpostiany of various cultivars
Lithuanian kopūstas
- kopūstasany of various cultivars
Malay kubis, kubis
- kubisany of various cultivars
- kubisleaves of this plant eaten as a vegetable
Māori kāpeti, nīko
- kāpetispecific cultivar
- nīkospecific cultivar
- nīkoany of various cultivars
- kāpetiany of various cultivars
- nīkoleaves of this plant eaten as a vegetable
- kāpetileaves of this plant eaten as a vegetable
Norwegian Bokmål hodekål, kål
- hodekålspecific cultivar
- kålany of various cultivars
- kålleaves of this plant eaten as a vegetable
Polish kapusta, kapusta
- kapustaspecific cultivar
- kapustaany of various cultivars
- kapustaleaves of this plant eaten as a vegetable
- warzywoperson with severely reduced mental capacities due to brain damage
- kapustamoney
- kapuchamoney
- sałatamoney
Portuguese repolho, couve
- repolhospecific cultivar
- couveany of various cultivars
- repolholeaves of this plant eaten as a vegetable
- vegetalperson with severely reduced mental capacities due to brain damage
Punjabi ਬੰਦ ਗੋਭੀ
- ਬੰਦ ਗੋਭੀ (band gobhī)leaves of this plant eaten as a vegetable
Romanian varză, varză
- varzăany of various cultivars
- varzăleaves of this plant eaten as a vegetable
- legumăperson with severely reduced mental capacities due to brain damage
Russian коча́нная капу́ста, капу́ста
- коча́нная капу́ста (kočánnaja kapústa)specific cultivar
- капу́ста (kapústa)any of various cultivars
- капу́ста (kapústa)leaves of this plant eaten as a vegetable
- о́вощ (óvošč)person with severely reduced mental capacities due to brain damage
- капу́ста (kapústa)money
Scottish Gaelic càl, càl
- càlany of various cultivars
- càlleaves of this plant eaten as a vegetable
Slovak kapusta, kapusta
- kapustaany of various cultivars
- kapustaleaves of this plant eaten as a vegetable
Spanish repollo, col
- repollospecific cultivar
- colany of various cultivars
- berzaany of various cultivars
- colleaves of this plant eaten as a vegetable
- repolloleaves of this plant eaten as a vegetable
- berzaleaves of this plant eaten as a vegetable
- vegetalperson with severely reduced mental capacities due to brain damage
- pastamoney
Swedish huvudkål, kål
- huvudkålspecific cultivar
- kålany of various cultivars
- vitkålleaves of this plant eaten as a vegetable
- grönsakperson with severely reduced mental capacities due to brain damage
Tagalog repolyo
- repolyospecific cultivar
Thai กะหล่ำปลี, กะหล่ำใบ
- กะหล่ำปลี (gà-làm-bplii)specific cultivar
- กะหล่ำใบspecific cultivar
- ใบกะหล่ำ (bai gà-làm)leaves of this plant eaten as a vegetable
- เป็นผักperson with severely reduced mental capacities due to brain damage
Turkish başlahana, lahana
- başlahanaspecific cultivar
- lahanaany of various cultivars
- lahanaleaves of this plant eaten as a vegetable
Ukrainian капу́ста, капу́ста
- капу́ста (kapústa)any of various cultivars
- капу́ста (kapústa)leaves of this plant eaten as a vegetable
Urdu بَنْد گوبھی, پَتَّہ گوبھی
- بَنْد گوبھی (band gobhī)specific cultivar
- پَتَّہ گوبھی (patta gobhī)specific cultivar
- گوبھی (gobhī)leaves of this plant eaten as a vegetable
- بَنْد گوبھی (band gobhī)leaves of this plant eaten as a vegetable
- پَتَّہ گوبھی (patta gobhī)leaves of this plant eaten as a vegetable
- کَرَم کَلّا (karam kallā)leaves of this plant eaten as a vegetable
Vietnamese cải bắp
- cải bắpspecific cultivar
Welsh bresych, bresychen
- bresychspecific cultivar
- bresychenleaves of this plant eaten as a vegetable
- bresychleaves of this plant eaten as a vegetable
Yiddish קרויט, קרויט
- קרויט (kroyt)any of various cultivars
- קרויט (kroyt)leaves of this plant eaten as a vegetable
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with cabbage
All rhymes →Sounds the same
CABG (one pronunciation)CABG (one pronunciation)CABG (one pronunciation)CABG (one pronunciation)
Cite this entry
APA
cabbage. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cabbage
MLA
“cabbage.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cabbage. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cabbage,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cabbage.
Source: cabbage on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.