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cavolo

cabbage

noun KAH-voh-loh Rare
Food & Drink Vegetables

Origin: From Latin caulis (stalk, cabbage).

Also means

damn (mild expletive)

Usage Note

Cavolo is a very common vegetable in Italian cuisine, but it doubles as a mild expletive — a polite stand-in for a stronger vulgarity, much like English 'damn' or 'heck.' Che cavolo fai? means 'what the heck are you doing?' The plural i cavoli appears in the proverb ognuno pensi ai cavoli suoi — 'mind your own business' (literally 'everyone think about their own cabbages').

Examples

"Ho comprato un cavolo al mercato."

Natural Translation

I bought a cabbage at the market.

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