Pronounced: mah(n)-KAY, adj (the ‘n’ is barely pronounced)
Notes: I wish I’d known this word; there are people I’ve met over the course of my life that this word fits well.
Yesterday’s word
In addition to the usual plant/food meanings, the word cabbage can mean, as a noun:
- money, especially in the form of bills
- a stupid or mentally impaired person
- a term of endearment
- scraps remaining from a fabric that has been used to make a garment
As a verb, cabbage can mean:
- to get intoxicated
- to steal of pilfer
- to plagiarize
Background / Comments
(I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t care for this word as a term of endearment, especially given the other meanings.) There are two different origins; most of the definitions come originally from Latin caput (head) and then to Anglo-Norman kabouche (head). The other definitions (the noun “scraps” meaning and the “steal/pilfer” and “plagiarize” verb definitions are uncertain, but are thought to be an alteration of “garbage”.
First usage
The noun meaning of “scraps” and the verb meanings of “steal/pilfer” and “plagiarize” showed up in the early 1700s; the other uses go back to the late 1300s
