cauliflower

[kaw-luh-flou-er, -lee-, kol-uh-, kol-ee-] Origin

cau·li·flow·er

[kaw-luh-flou-er, -lee-, kol-uh-, kol-ee-]
noun
1.
a form of cultivated plant, Brassica oleracea botrytis, of the mustard family, whose inflorescence forms a compact, usually whitish head. Compare broccoli.
2.
this head, used as a vegetable.

Origin:
1590–1600; < Latin cauli(s) cole + flower; replacing coleflorie < Italian ca(v)olfiore, equivalent to cavol cole + fiore < Latin flōri- (stem of flōs) flower
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To Cauliflower

00:10

00:09

00:08

00:07

00:06

00:05

00:04

00:03

00:02

00:01

Cauliflower is always a great word to know.
So is slumgullion. Does it mean:
a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.
a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.
Collins
World English Dictionary
cauliflower (ˈkɒlɪˌflaʊə)
 
n
1.  a variety of cabbage, Brassica oleracea botrytis, having a large edible head of crowded white flowers on a very short thick stem
2.  the flower head of this plant, used as a vegetable
 
[C16: from Italian caoli fiori, literally: cabbage flowers, from cavolo cabbage (from Latin caulis) + fiore flower (from Latin flōs)]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

cauliflower
1597, originally cole florye, from It. cavoli fiori "flowered cabbage," pl. of cavolo "cabbage" + fiore "flower" (from L. flora, q.v.). First element from L. caulis "cabbage," borrowed into Gmc. and source of cole in cole slaw and of Scot. kale. The front end of the word
EXPAND
was re-Latinized. The boxer's cauliflower ear is from 1907.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Dictionary.com, LLC. Copyright © 2012. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature