Brussels Sprouts
/ˈbrʌs.əlz spraʊts/noun
A variety of cabbage with many small edible buds that grow along a tall stalk.
Did you know?The name is geographic, not symbolic: Brussels sprouts were cultivated in the region around Brussels, Belgium, and the plural “sprouts” refers to the buds growing on the stalk, not a hidden occult meaning.
Etymological Timeline
Modern English
English
Brussels sprouts
“A vegetable with edible buds growing along a stalk.”
19th Century
English
Brussels sprout
“A cultivated cabbage variety associated with Brussels, Belgium.”
French/Low Countries
Dutch/French
Brussel
“The city of Brussels, later used in English as the geographic source of the vegetable name.”
Old French
French
espraut / esprout
“A shoot or sprout.”
Latin
Latin
expullare
“To bud, shoot forth, or sprout.”