cauliflower
/ˈkɒləfˌlaʊə/KO-luh-flow-ur
/ˈkɑləfˌlaʊɚ/KAH-luh-flow-ur
Meaningcabbage flower
Common meaning: a vegetable with a white head
- caula stalk; a cabbageLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 303 · scan
- flowera flower, blossomLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 761 · scan
‘a stalk’ + ‘a flower, blossom’ → cauliflower
Journey through time
- caul — Latin caulis, -is “a stalk; a cabbage” (path traced)
- flower — Latin flōs, flōris “a flower, blossom” (path traced)
Parts join in French as floris.
- Latincaulis, -is + flōs, flōris‘a stalk + a flower, blossom’
- Frenchfloris
- Englishcauliflower‘a vegetable with a white head’ · today
Sources & notes
Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
- No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
- US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
- No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.
Origin: Built on Latin caulis ‘a stalk; a cabbage’ + Latin flōs ‘a flower, blossom’.
Did you know: our wording, based on Lewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), entry flōs, p. 761 · dictionary scan
Roots
- caulis, -is Latin “a stalk; a cabbage”
- flōs, flōris Latin “a flower, blossom”
Related words
Building blocks are an automatic split · open in app