cabbage

Etymology 1

From Middle English caboche, cabage (“cabbage”; “a certain fish”), a borrowing from Anglo-Norman caboche (“head”), a northern variant of caboce, of uncertain origin. Some authorities derive it from Latin caput (“head”), others from ca- (said to be an expressive prefix) + boce (“hump; bump”)..

noun

1. An edible plant (Brassica oleracea var. capitata) having a head of green leaves.
2. (uncountable) The leaves of this plant eaten as a vegetable.
   Cabbage is good for you.
3. (countable, offensive) A person with severely reduced mental capacities due to brain damage.
   After the car crash, he became a cabbage.
4. Used as a term of endearment.
   If you deceive me, Yasha, I don't know if my nerves could stand it. YASHA (kissing her) My little cabbage! Of course, a girl must know her place. 2009, Tom Stoppard, Helen Rappaport, The Cherry Orchard, translation of Вишнëвый сад ("Vishniovy sad") by Anton Chekhov, published 1904, page 31
5. (uncountable, slang) Money.
6. (uncountable, slang) Marijuana leaf, the part that is not smoked but from which cannabutter can be extracted.
7. The terminal bud of certain palm trees, used for food.
8. The cabbage palmetto (Sabal palmetto), a palm of the southeastern US coasts and nearby islands.

verb

1. (intransitive) To form a head like that of the cabbage.
   to make lettuce cabbage
2. (intransitive, slang) To do nothing; to idle; veg out.
   How effective the project was is a moot point, because there were never any studies carried out to see whether children benefited from cabbaging in front of the TV rather than interacting with a teacher. 2006, Steve Mckevitt, Why the World Is Full of Useless Things, page 38

Etymology 2

Unclear. Perhaps from Dutch *kabbassen, from Old French cabasser (“put into a basket”), from cabas. Alternatively, perhaps from an earlier word *carbage (“shred”), a potential variant of *garbage (“wheat straw”).

noun

1. (slang) Scraps of cloth which are left after a garment has been cut out, which tailors traditionally kept.

verb

1. (transitive) To embezzle or purloin; to pilfer, to steal.