cabbage

1 of 3

noun (1)

cab·​bage ˈka-bij 

often attributive

1

a

: any of several brassicas (Brassica oleracea) of European origin

especially : a leafy garden plant (Brassica oleracea var. capitata) with a short stem and a dense globular head of usually green leaves that is used as a vegetable

b

: any of several plants related to or resembling cabbage

2

slang : money, cash

cabbagey adjective

or less commonly cabbagy

ˈka-bə-jē 

cabbage

2 of 3

noun (2)

: pieces of cloth left in cutting out garments and traditionally kept by tailors as perquisites

cabbage

3 of 3

verb

cabbaged; cabbaging

transitive verb

: steal, filch

They also cabbaged our bats, balls, and gloves.

—H. L. Mencken

Did you know?

Cabbage, Not the Vegetable

Does the "filching" meaning of cabbage bring to mind an image of thieves sneaking out of farm fields with armloads of pilfered produce? If so, you're in for a surprise. This use has nothing to do with the leafy vegetable. It originally referred to the practice among tailors of pocketing part of the cloth given to them to make garments. The verb was cut from the same cloth as an older British noun cabbage, which meant "pieces of cloth left in cutting out garments and traditionally kept by tailors as perquisites." Both of those ethically questionable cabbages probably derived from cabas, the Middle French word for "cheating or theft." The cabbage found in coleslaw, on the other hand, comes from Middle English caboche, which meant "head."

Synonyms

Noun (1)

• bread [slang]
• bucks
• cash
• change
• chips
• coin
• currency
• dough
• gold
• green
• jack [slang]
• kale [slang]
• legal tender
• lolly [British]
• long green [slang]
• loot
• lucre
• money
• moola [slang]
• moolah
• needful
• pelf
• scratch [slang]
• shekels
• sheqels
• shekelim
• shekalim
• sheqalim
• tender
• wampum

Examples of cabbage in a Sentence

Noun (1)

he suddenly has a lot of cabbage for someone who's never done an honest day's work in his life

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The kit includes several of the chemicals needed (for example, citric acid, baking soda, vegetable oil, and red cabbage powder), so kids don’t have to raid the pantry to complete these experiments. —Cheryl Fenton, Parents, 5 Dec. 2024

To thicken the cabbage and give it a nice glossy shine, dissolve some cornstarch in water. —Kathryn Gregory, The Courier-Journal, 20 Nov. 2024

The corn has been collected, the cabbage gathered, and the pumpkin season is almost done. —Melanie Stetson Freeman, The Christian Science Monitor, 6 Nov. 2024

Main Street Hustle: 16-hour roasted brisket, mustard, cabbage, and pickles. —Haadiza Ogwude, The Enquirer, 13 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English caboche, from Middle French dialect (Norman & Picard), literally, head, noggin

Noun (2)

perhaps by folk etymology from Middle French cabas cheating, theft

First Known Use

Noun (1)

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun (2)

1663, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1691, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing cabbage

• cabbage butterfly
• cabbage looper
• cabbage palm
• cabbage palmetto
• cabbage rose
• cabbage worm
• celery cabbage
• Chinese cabbage
• imported cabbage worm
• napa cabbage
• savoy cabbage
• skunk cabbage

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Kids Definition

cabbage

noun

cab·​bage

ˈkab-ij

: a garden plant related to the turnips and mustards that has a round firm head of leaves used as a vegetable