cabbage

noun

• 1a cultivated plant eaten as a vegetable, having thick green or purple leaves surrounding a spherical heart or head of young leaves.

  • Brassica oleracea, family Cruciferae (or Brassicaceae; the cabbage family). As well as the brassicas, the members of this family (known as crucifers) include the mustards and cresses together with many ornamentals (candytuft, alyssum, stocks, nasturtiums, wallflowers)
• [mass noun] the leaves of cabbage, eaten as a vegetable: boiled cabbage

• 2British offensive a person whose physical or mental activity is impaired or destroyed by injury or illness: I said I would not become a cabbage after my stroke
• informal a person who leads a very dull life: the image of the housewife as a cabbage is prevalent