Coleslaw
/ˈkoʊl.sloʊ/noun
A salad made of finely shredded raw cabbage, typically dressed with mayonnaise or vinegar.
Did you know?The word comes from Dutch koolsla, short for koolsalade, literally “cabbage salad,” and English speakers reshaped it into the modern form coleslaw.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*kōlą
“cabbage, cole crops”
Old Dutch / Middle Dutch
Dutch
kool
“cabbage”
18th Century
Dutch
koolsla
“cabbage salad”
18th Century
English
cold slaw
“shredded cabbage salad served cold”
Modern English
English
coleslaw
“shredded cabbage salad, usually with dressing”
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