Cabbaged

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Taken or stolen, especially without permission, like something illicitly acquired ; mentally confused or muddled, unable to think clearly
2. Illegally or surreptitiously seized or acquired ; feeling mentally disoriented or unable to concentrate
3. Obtained by theft or unauthorized means ; experiencing a state of mental confusion or bewilderment

Etymology: Cabbaged is the past tense and past participle of "cabbage", and the verb's sense of stealing comes from a surprising direction: the vegetable came first. The noun traces back through Old French "caboce", a head, and Anglo-Norman "cabochest" related forms, to Middle English "caboche", meaning a head or skull. Cabbage, the leafy plant, was named for its rounded, head-like shape, and the English verb grew out of that noun. The verb's early senses are said to have involved tailors who secretly kept back cloth from a customer's order, and the idea of pilfering spread from there to the modern meanings of seizing things illegally, and of being mentally muddled or unable to concentrate. Treat the tailor story as a traditional explanation rather than a documented fact, since the record for these senses is thin. What is clear is that "cabbaged" carries the same -ed ending as any other English verb, added to the noun-turned-verb "cabbage".