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Cabbage, Not the Vegetable
Does the "filching" meaning of cabbage bring to mind an image of thieves sneaking out of farm fields with armloads of pilfered produce? If so, you're in for a surprise. This use has nothing to do with the leafy vegetable. It originally referred to the practice among tailors of pocketing part of the cloth given to them to make garments. The verb was cut from the same cloth as an older British noun cabbage, which meant "pieces of cloth left in cutting out garments and traditionally kept by tailors as perquisites." Both of those ethically questionable cabbages probably derived from cabas, the Middle French word for "cheating or theft." The cabbage found in coleslaw, on the other hand, comes from Middle English caboche, which meant "head."
Synonyms
Noun (1)
Examples of cabbage in a Sentence
Nina Moskowitz, Bon Appétit, 6 Dec. 2024
When the cabbage is cooked, remove the bouquet garni.
—Kathryn Gregory, The Courier-Journal, 20 Nov. 2024
Roasted cabbage — silken and sweet with charred edges — becomes the base for the parm treatment, while chunky croutons replace the shower of breadcrumbs.
—Margaux Laskey, New York Times, 30 Dec. 2024
Brussels Sprouts Brussels sprouts are more than just a cocktail bar bite—the miniature cabbages are a health food in their own right.
—Alessandra Signorelli, Vogue, 30 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for cabbage 
Dictionary Entries Near cabbage
Cite this Entry
“Cabbage.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cabbage. Accessed 6 Jan. 2025.
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