Broccolini
/ˌbrɑːkəˈliːni/noun
A vegetable that is a hybrid of broccoli and Chinese broccoli, with long tender stalks and small florets.
Did you know?Broccolini is a modern trademarked-style coinage from the 1990s, built to sound Italian by using the diminutive suffix -ini, which gives it a deliciously fake-old, almost spellbound feel.
Etymological Timeline
1990s
English
broccolini
“A marketed hybrid vegetable name for a tender-stemmed broccoli variety”
Italian
Italian
broccolo
“A broccoli or cabbage sprout; a flowering top”
Late Latin
Late Latin
bracchium
“Arm; later associated in some accounts with branching or sprouting forms”
Latin
Latin
broccus
“Projecting, pointed, or hooked”
Modern English
English
broccolini
“A tender-stemmed broccoli hybrid”
Explore more surprising origins