broc‧co‧li /ˈbrɒkəli $ ˈbrɑː-/ BrE AmE noun [uncountable]
[Date: 1600-1700; Language: Italian; Origin: plural of broccolo, from brocco 'small nail', from Latin broccus; ⇨ ↑brooch]
a green vegetable that has short branch-like stems
uncountable
a vegetable with a thick green stem and several dark green or purple flower heads Word Origin:
[broccoli] mid 17th cent.: from Italian, plural of broccolo ‘cabbage sprout, head’, diminutive of brocco ‘shoot’, based on Latin brocchus, broccus ‘projecting’.
