napa cabbage

or nap·pa cab·bage

[ nap-uh kab-ij, nah-puh ]

noun

1. a type of Chinese cabbage, Brassica rapa pekinensis, with broad, ruffled, light green leaves that form a cylindrical, compact head, originating in the vicinity of Beijing and now widely cultivated in Europe, North America, and Australia.
2. the leaves and stalks of this plant eaten as a raw or cooked vegetable, especially in East Asian cuisine.

Word History and Origins

Origin of napa cabbage¹

First recorded in 1935–40; from Japanese dialect nappa “greens, salad greens,” equivalent to na “green” + -pa, combining form of ha “leaf”