cabbage palmetto
- noun
- /ˈkæbɪdʒ pælˈmɛtoʊ/
- US
:
palmetto
- Early settlers sometimes ate the heart of the cabbage palmetto as a delicacy.
Examples
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The cabbage palmetto thrives in warm coastal areas.
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A row of cabbage palmettos lines the streets in parts of South Carolina.
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The coastline is dotted with cabbage palmetto trees, giving the landscape a tropical feel.
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Many cabbage palmettos can be found in Florida.
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The cabbage palmetto grows along the sandy beaches of South Carolina.
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In the coastal wetlands, the cabbage palmetto can be seen towering over the other vegetation.
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She enjoyed the tender buds from the cabbage palmetto in her salad.
Synonyms
A palm tree with fan-shaped leaves that grows along the southern US coast
A palm tree whose young leaf buds are eaten as a vegetable
Surface Forms
Morphology
This is a straightforward noun–noun compound where 'cabbage' modifies 'palmetto', signalling a specific kind of palmetto (a palm) associated with 'cabbage' features such as edible buds. The meaning — a type of palm tree — is directly derivable from the constituents and follows common, cross-linguistic compound patterns, so a learner who knows both words can infer the MWE’s meaning.
Etymology
Cabbage palmetto gets its name from early settlers who ate the tender inner bud of the palm and thought it tasted like a 'cabbage'. The word palmetto names the small, fan-shaped palm, so the full name points to a palm tree with an edible heart and explains its modern meaning.
