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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)
Examples of cabbage in a Sentence
Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 16 Feb. 2025
Found in cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower, goitrogens can inhibit iodine absorption, which can cause issues for those with thyroid conditions.10
Protease inhibitors.
—Christina Manian, Health, 15 Feb. 2025
These slow-cooker chicken sliders get a satisfying crunch from sliced cabbage, too.
27.
—Christine Byrne, StyleCaster, 8 Feb. 2025
Golden paneer stir-fried with green beans, creamy burrata and cabbage salad, and Halloumi meatballs with tomato sauce.
—Chris Morocco, Bon Appétit, 15 Jan. 2025
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Dictionary Entries Near cabbage
Cite this Entry
“Cabbage.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cabbage. Accessed 22 Feb. 2025.
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