Chou
/ʃuː/noun
A cabbage, especially in French usage, or a small cream puff in English culinary terminology.
Did you know?French speakers also use chou affectionately—mon chou means “my cabbage,” an unexpectedly vegetable-based term of endearment.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*keh₂u̯l-
“A reconstructed root associated with a stalk or cabbage-like plant.”
Classical Latin
Latin
caulis
“A stem, stalk, or cabbage.”
Old French
Old French
chol
“Cabbage; a descendant of Latin caulis.”
Middle French
French
chou
“Cabbage, with the final form developing through regular French sound changes.”
16th–18th Century
French
pâte à choux
““Cabbage paste,” a name referring to the rounded, cabbage-like appearance of the baked pastry.”
Modern English
English
chou
“A cream puff or profiterole in culinary English, borrowed from French.”
Explore more surprising origins