Kohlrabis

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of cruciferous vegetable characterized by a swollen stem that is edible and typically green or purple in color
2. A plant from the Brassica family, cultivated for its bulbous stem that can be eaten raw or cooked in various dishes
3. An edible variety of cabbage that develops a bulb-like shape above ground, often used in salads or soups

Etymology: "Kohlrabis" is simply the plural of "kohlrabi," a vegetable whose name is a mixed-language compound. The German "Kohl" means cabbage, and the second half comes from Italian "rapa," meaning turnip. Together they describe a plant that is a cabbage-relative with a turnip-like swollen stem. The Italian half is the more surprising part. The German name was built from the Italian phrase "cavoli rape," the plural of "cavolo rapa," which literally meant "cole rape," that is, cabbage turnip. German speakers took that Italian phrase and fused it with their own word for cabbage, producing a name that sounds German but contains Italian at its core.