Rapini
/rəˈpiːni/noun
Rapini is a leafy green vegetable with small broccoli-like florets and a pleasantly bitter flavor.
Did you know?Rapini’s root traces back to Latin rapa, the turnip, a word family that also gave English “rape” for the turnip plant and “rapeseed.”
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*rāp-
“A reconstructed root associated with turnip-like root vegetables”
Classical Latin
Latin
rapa
“Turnip”
Medieval Latin
Latin
rapum
“Turnip or other rounded edible root”
Medieval Italian
Italian
rapa
“Turnip”
Medieval Italian
Italian
rapino
“A little turnip; a diminutive form related to rapa”
Modern Italian
Italian
rapini
“Plural form used for the vegetable commonly called broccoli rabe”
20th Century
English
rapini
“A bitter leafy green vegetable adopted from Italian”