Where does “skunk cabbage” come from?

skunk cabbage (English) comes from English cabbage, from Middle English caboche, from Anglo-Norman caboche, from Old French caboce, from Latin caput, from Proto-Italic kaput, from Proto-Indo-European káput, from Proto-Indo-European kap- — to seize, hold.

skunk cabbage (English): Any of several leafy, foul-smelling plants,...

Definitions

  1. Any of several leafy, foul-smelling plants,...

Ancestry of “skunk cabbage”, step by step

skunk cabbage traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English cabbage

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishcabbageAn edible plant having a head of green leaves;...
2Middle Englishcabochecabbage; A kind of fish
3Anglo-Normancabochehead; Alternative form of caboce
4Old Frenchcabocehead
5Latincaputhead; headlike protuberance on an organ or body...
6Proto-Italickaputhead
7Proto-Indo-Europeankáputhead
8Proto-Indo-Europeankap-to seize, hold

via English skunk

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishskunkAny of various small mammals, of the family...
2Abenakisegôgwskunk
3Proto-Algonquianšeka·kwaskunk
4Proto-Algonquianšek-to urinate

Words derived from “skunk cabbage

Every word from Proto-Indo-European kap-Every word from Proto-Indo-European káputEvery word from Proto-Italic kaput