calabrese
calabrese Lexical Profile
• noun
British A common cultivated variety of cabbage (Brassica oleracea) bearing tight green floral heads on thick stalks, originally grown in Calabria, Italy.
"She steamed a fresh head of calabrese from the garden and tossed it with garlic and olive oil."
A native or inhabitant of the Calabria region in southern Italy.
"The local heritage festival celebrated the food and culture of the Calabrese who immigrated to the city in the early twentieth century."
The Romance dialects spoken in Calabria, which are closely related to Neapolitan in the north and Sicilian in the south.
"Though he understands standard Italian perfectly, he primarily speaks Calabrese with his grandparents at home."
Word Nuance & Usage
In British English, 'calabrese' is commonly used to distinguish standard large-headed green broccoli from other sprouting varieties, whereas in North American English, this vegetable is almost exclusively referred to as simply 'broccoli'.
• Rhymes for calabrese
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed from Italian 'calabrese', meaning 'from Calabria', a region in southern Italy. The term was adopted into English to refer to the specific type of broccoli cultivated there, as well as the region's people and dialects.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.