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kohlrabi

[kohl-rah-bee, -rab-ee, kohl-rah-bee, -rab-ee]
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noun, plural kohl·ra·bies.
  1. a cultivated cabbage, Brassica oleracea gongylodes, whose stem above ground swells into an edible, bulblike formation.

Origin of kohlrabi

1800–10; < German < Italian cavolrape (plural of cavolrapa literally, stalk or cabbage turnip), with German Kohl cabbage for Italian cavol-. See cole, rape2
Also called stem cabbage, turnip cabbage.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for kohlrabi

Historical Examples

  • Every day they lunched on frankfurters and kohlrabi at Schwartz's.

    Our Square and the People in It

    Samuel Hopkins Adams

  • They also gave out potatoes, kohlrabi, bread and blood sausage at times.

  • Peel, slice, and soak the kohlrabi in cold water for half an hour.

  • Cook the kohlrabi in boiling salted water until tender and then drain the water from it.

    Woman's Institute Library of Cookery, Vol. 2

    Woman's Institute of Domestic Arts and Sciences

  • The edible part of kohlrabi is the enlarged stem, which has the flavor of both turnip and cabbage.

    Woman's Institute Library of Cookery, Vol. 2

    Woman's Institute of Domestic Arts and Sciences

British Dictionary definitions for kohlrabi

kohlrabi

noun plural -bies
  1. a cultivated variety of cabbage, Brassica oleracea caulorapa (or gongylodes), whose thickened stem is eaten as a vegetableAlso called: turnip cabbage

Word Origin

C19: from German, from Italian cavoli rape (pl), from cavolo cabbage (from Latin caulis) + rapa turnip (from Latin); influenced by German Kohl cabbage
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for kohlrabi

n.

also kohl-rabi, kohl rabi, kind of cabbage, 1807, from German Kohlrabi (16c.), from Italian cavoli rape, plural of cavolo rapo "cole-rape;" see cole + rape (n.2). Form influenced in German by German kohl "cabbage."

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper