Where does “kål” come from?
kål (Danish) comes from Old Danish kaal, from Old Norse kál, from Old English cāwel, from Proto-West Germanic *kauli, from Latin caulis, from Ancient Greek καυλός, from Proto-Indo-European keh₂ulós.
kål (Danish): cabbage, kale
Ancestry of “kål”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old Danish | kaal | — |
| 2 | Old Norse | kál | — |
| 3 | Old English | cāwel | — |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | *kauli | — |
| 5 | Latin | caulis | dative plural of caulae; ablative plural of... |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | καυλός | stem, stalk; shaft |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | keh₂ulós | — |