Monday, December 4, 2023

Another back-to-front word

And that word is...cauliflower.

Often, I go to the supermarket planning to buy something for lunch for the next two or three days, and then I see an array of creamy, plump cauliflowers and I simply can't resist. Mostly, I end up making cauliflower cheese.

The word 'cauliflower' consists of two parts. The first part means 'cabbage' and the second 'flower'. Originally, it was called 'cole florye' in English - from the Italian word 'cavoli fiore' - or 'flowered cabbages'. 

French also has the two components the same way round: chou-fleur = cabbage flower.

But what do the Germans call it? Blumenkohl - flower cabbage. I wonder why.

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