napa cabbage

or nap·pa cab·bage

[ nap-uh-kab-ij, nah-puh ]

noun
  1. a type of Chinese cabbage, Brassica rapa pekinensis, with broad, ruffled, light green leaves that form a cylindrical, compact head, originating in the vicinity of Beijing and now widely cultivated in Europe, North America, and Australia.

  2. the leaves and stalks of this plant eaten as a raw or cooked vegetable, especially in East Asian cuisine.

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Origin of napa cabbage

1
First recorded in 1935–40; from Japanese dialect nappa “greens, salad greens,” equivalent to na “green” + -pa, combining form of ha “leaf”
  • Also called cel·e·ry cab·bage, pe-tsai .

Words Nearby napa cabbage

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024