broccoli (English)

Where does "broccoli" come from?

The word broccoli comes to us from the Italian 'broccolo,' meaning a cabbage sprout, which itself is a diminutive of the older term 'brocco,' meaning a shoot or sprout. This Italian root traces back to the Latin 'broccus,' which described something pointed or projecting, likely originating from ancient Celtic words relating to tips, points, or even badgers. It is a fascinating evolution, tracking the journey of a word that began by describing simple sharp points and eventually settled on the familiar, tree-like vegetable we eat today.

Full etymology tree

• broccoli (English), 'A plant, Brassica oleracea var. italica, of the cabbage family, Brassicaceae; especially, the tree-shaped flower and stalk that are eaten as a vegetable.'
  • borrowed broccoli (Italian), 'plural of broccolo'
    • derived broccolo (Italian), 'broccoli'
      • derived brocco (Italian), 'thorn, stick'
        • inherited broccus (Latin), 'A person having projecting teeth, a buck-toothed person'
          • borrowed *brokkos (Gaulish)
            • inherited *brokkos (Proto-Celtic), 'badger'
            • inherited *brozdos (Proto-Celtic)
      • suffix -olo (Italian), 'used to form a diminutive of a masculine noun, indicating small size or youth'

Direct ancestors

• broccoli (Italian)
• broccus (Latin)
• brokkos (Proto-Celtic)
• bròg (Scottish Gaelic)
• procio (Welsh)
• brord (Old English)

Updated June 2026

Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris