Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

broccoli

/ˈbɹɑ.kə.li/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 3.50 in modern English

Syllables: broc-coli
IPA: /ˈbɹɑ.kə.li/

14

Scrabble Score

8

Letters

3

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A plant, Brassica oleracea var. italica, of the cabbage family, Brassicaceae; especially, the tree-shaped flower and stalk that are eaten as a vegetable.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

American usage; Countable; Slang; Uncountable

noun

plural of broccolo

name

A surname from Italian.

Example Sentences

"You can also get oriental broccolis such as kailaan and nabana, which are easy to grow and really tasty."
"Examples of leafy vegetables are broccoli, spinach, celery, and chicory."
"I be smokin' broccoli, mama told me eat my veggies"
"All I want is cottage, roll a cigar full of broccoli"

Etymology

First attested in 1699, Italian broccoli, plural of broccolo (“cabbage sprout, head”), diminutive of brocco (“shoot, sprout”) (which is also the origin of brocade), from Latin broccus (“pointed, sharp, projecting; buck-toothed”), possibly of Gaulish origin, related to Proto-Celtic *brokkos (“badger”) or Proto-Celtic *brozdos (“tip, point”) (compare Scottish Gaelic brog (“pointed instrument, awl”), Welsh procio (“thrust, poke”), Old English brord (“point, spike”)). More at brochure, brad.

Origin

Source language: Italian
First known use: First attested in 1699

Word Breakdown

Root: broccoli, broccus, -, *brokkos, *brozdos

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈbɹɑ.kə.li/
British English: /ˈbɹɒk.ə.li/

Usage

Inflected Forms

broccolis (plural) broccolo (alternative, rare) brocoli (alternative, archaic) brockely (alternative, obsolete)

Derived Forms

broccoflower broccolilike broccolini broccoloid superbroccoli

Phrases

Aztec broccoli baby broccoli broccoli cut broccoli hair broccoli haircut broccoli raab broccoli rabe broccoli rape

Frequently Paired Words

brocade

Synonyms

bhang benj boo broccoli bud buddha cannabis cheeba choof daccha dank devil's lettuce

Questions

How do you pronounce broccoli?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈbɹɑ.kə.li/.
What does broccoli mean?: A plant, Brassica oleracea var. italica, of the cabbage family, Brassicaceae; especially, the tree-shaped flower and stalk that are eaten as a vegetable.
Where does broccoli come from?: It is traced to Italian. First known use: First attested in 1699.

How to pronounce broccoli

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “broccoli”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈbɹɑ.kə.li/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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