arch. Also 4–5 cool-, 6–7 col-. [f. COLE sb.1 + WORT plant.]
1. Originally, a general name for any plant of the cabbage kind, genus Brassica (of which the varieties were formerly less distinct than now).
c. 1380. Wyclif, Serm., Sel. Wks. I. 100. Growynge of coolwortis and oþer wedis.
1491. Caxton, Vitas Patr. (W. de W., 1495), I. cxxv. 143 a/1. Wyth the leues of the coole wortes that men cast out of my kechin.
1578. Lyte, Dodoens, IV. vi. 551. There be divers sortes of Colewurtes, not muche lyke one another.
1591. Spenser, Muiopotmos, 199. Fat Colworts, and comforting Perseline.
1626. Bacon, Sylva, § 518. We see that Water-mint turneth into field-mint and the Colewort into Rape by neglect.
1661. Pepys, Diary, 10 March. A poor Lenten dinner of colworts and bacon.
1830. Scott, Demonol., vii. 216. Their food was … broth made of coleworts and bacon.
1859. Tennyson, Guinevere, 32. As the gardener’s hand Picks from the colewort a green caterpillar.
b. Cabbage-colewort: a colewort that hearts or forms a cabbage.
1616. Surfl. & Markh., Countr. Farm, 165. Cabage-colewort, which are called white or apple Coleworts.
2. In later times, applied especially to those varieties that do not heart, e.g., kale or greens, or to cabbage-plants before they heart.
1683. Tryon, Way to Health, 209. Of Colworts, Cabbage and Colly-flowers. Colworts are the best of the three.
1799. J. Robertson, Agric. Perth, 281. Cabbages and coleworts are of this class.
1832. Veg. Subst. Food, 259. There the cabbage and … colewort are in equal favour.
1861. Delamer, Kitch. Gard., 56. Coleworts (or cabbage-plants half-grown, before they have formed their hearts).
b. Sea Colewort: Sea-kale, Crambe maritima.
1725. Bradley, Fam. Dict., Sea Colewort, a Plant that differs from other Coles.
1794. Martyn, Rousseau’s Bot., xxiii. 324. Sea-Colewort has a globose silique.
3. Applied to the edible terminal bud of a palm-tree; = CABBAGE 3.
1796. H. Hunter, trans. St.-Pierre’s Stud. Nat. (1799), III. 91. The colewort which is inclosed in the leaves that grow on the top of this tree is very good to eat.
† 4. In the proverbial phr. coleworts twice sodden, applied to a statement, argument, etc., that has been presented before; ‘stale news.’ Obs.
c. 1568. Fulke, Answ. Chr. Protestant (1577), 84. These colewortes haue bene sodden twise or thryse already.
1580. Lyly, Euphues (Arb.), 391. Which I must omitte, least I set before you Colewortes twise sodden.
1610. Bp. Hall, Apol. agst. Brownists, 98. You want variety, when you send in these twise-sodde Coleworts.
1644. Bulwer, Chiron., 136. It being better sometimes to use a licentious and unwarrantable motion, then alwayes to obtrude the same Coleworts. [So mod. dial. ‘I don’t boil my cabbages twice.’ Cf. also Sc. ‘cauld kale het again.’]
5. attrib., as cole-wort worm.
1552. Huloet, s.v. Canker worme, Some do call them the deuyls goldrynge, & some the colewort worme.
1880. Boy’s Own Bk., 265. Cabbage-worm … colewort-worm, or grub.
