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colewort

colewort

9.9
A type of cabbage grown as a vegetable with rough curly leaves that do not form a tight head
  • noun
  • /ˈkoʊlˌwɜrt/
  • Archaic
translation icon : col
  • The colewort is often used in traditional dishes.

Examples

  • The chilly climate is perfect for growing colewort in the winter months.

  • She picked fresh colewort from the garden to use in her soup recipe.

  • Unlike regular cabbages, colewort does not form a tight head and its leaves remain open.

  • I found some fresh coleworts at the farmer's market.

  • The farmer harvested the colewort, enjoying its robust flavor in his vegetable dishes.

  • In traditional cooking, colewort is often used to add a hearty texture to soups and stews.

  • She planted colewort in her garden because it thrives in cool weather and adds variety to her vegetable patch.

Synonyms

cole
vscolewort
  • Archaic
110 8.1

A leafy vegetable like cabbage that people or animals eat and farmers grow

is narrower, naming the hardy non heading cabbage rather than the whole family
kale
vscolewort
43 2.4

A hardy green vegetable with curly leaves like cabbage

is the descriptive term stressing that it does not form a head
kail
vscolewort
  • Archaic
1 8.4

A leafy cabbage with coarse curly leaves often used in Scottish cooking

is the general term not tied to any regional cooking tradition
Brassica oleracea acephala
vscolewort
  • Specialized
7.0

A hardy leafy vegetable like kale with thick curly leaves that do not form a head

is the everyday descriptive name rather than the formal scientific label
borecole
vscolewort
  • Archaic
9.5

A leafy vegetable like cabbage with tough curly leaves

is similar but describes leaves as coarse rather than especially tough

Surface Forms

colewort singular
coleworts plural

Morphology

colewort = cole + wort (semi-transparent) = cole + wort

The meaning is literally 'cole' (cabbage) + 'wort' (plant), but both elements are archaic or rare, so many learners will not recognise them.

Etymology

Colewort comes from two old English parts: cole, meaning 'cabbage' or 'kale', and wort, meaning 'plant' or 'herb'. So colewort is literally a 'cabbage plant', which fits this hardy vegetable with open, curly leaves instead of a tight cabbage head.