Meanings
plural coleworts · alternative obsolete colwort
- uncountableusuallyA plant of the genus Brassica; now specifically, a Brassica plant without a head and used for food, such as kale.
Fat coleworts, and comforting perseline , Cold lettuce , and refreshing rosmarine
1591, Ed[mund] Sp[enser], Complaints. Containing Sundrie Small Poemes of the Worlds Vanitie. […], London: […] William Ponsonbie, […], →OCLC1 more example
[W]e may observe that water will more readily wet some woods then others; and that water, let fall upon a Feather, the whiter side of a Colwort, and some other leaves, or upon almost any dusty, unctuous, or resinous superficies, will not at all adhere to them, but easily tumble off from them, like a solid Bowl […].
1665, Robert Hooke, MicrographiaSynonyms: cole
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA plant of the genus Brassica; now specifically, a Brassica plant without a head and used for food, such as kale.
More synonyms by meaning
nouna hardy cabbage with coarse curly leaves that do not form a head
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Middle Englishcoolwort
- Englishcolewort
Inherited from Middle English coolwort, coulwort, cole-wort, caule worte, equivalent to cole + wort.
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Catalan col verda
- col verdakale
French chou, chou commun
- choukale
- chou communkale
Greek λαχανίδα
- λαχανίδα (lachanída)kale
Italian ravizzone, cavolo
- ravizzonekale
- cavolokale
Latin ērūca
- ērūcakale
Portuguese couve
- couvekale
Romanian varză nemțească
- varză nemțeascăkale
Spanish col silvestre
- col silvestrekale
Cite this entry
colewort. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/colewort
“colewort.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/colewort. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “colewort,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/colewort.
Source: colewort on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.