a vegetable of the cabbage family whose thick, round, white stem is eaten Topics Foodc2球茎甘蓝;苤蓝 Word Originearly 19th cent.: via German from Italian cavoli rape, plural of cavola rapa, from medieval Latin caulorapa, from Latin caulis ‘stem, cabbage’ + rapum, rapa ‘turnip’; compare with French chou-rave.