kale

IPA/keɪl/
KK[kˈel]IPA/keɪl/

kale — noun

1. a leafy green or purple vegetable with tightly curled or wrinkled edges, belongi

1.nounB1
Definition

a leafy green or purple vegetable with tightly curled or wrinkled edges, belonging to the cabbage family and often eaten raw in salads or cooked as a side dish

Example

Chitra added a handful of chopped kale to her morning smoothie for extra vitamins.

The garden at Yuki's house produced enough kale to share with all the neighbours.

uncountable: enough kale to share

Common collocations
  • curly kale
  • Tuscan kale
  • kale chips
  • kale salad
  • bunch of kale
  • bag of kale
Synonyms
  • cabbage

    the broader vegetable family; kale is a cabbage variety that does not form a dense head

  • collard greens

    a similar leafy green with flat (not curly) leaves, common in Southern US cooking

  • spinach

    a different leafy green with milder flavour and softer texture, used in similar dishes

Grammar Patterns

bunch of kale

some kale

[variety] kale

Usage Note

Kale is almost always used as an uncountable noun ('a bunch of kale', 'some kale'). The plural 'kales' appears only when discussing different cultivated varieties.

Common Mistakes

I bought two kales from the market.
I bought two bunches of kale from the market.
Kale is usually uncountable; use a unit like 'bunch', 'bag', or 'head' to specify quantity.

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Kale, cabbage, collard greens, spinach, and lettuce are all leafy greens, but they differ in texture, flavour, and how they are used. Cabbage forms a dense round head of tight pale leaves, whereas kale grows in loose bunches of dark curly or ruffled leaves with a tougher, earthier taste. Collard greens are closer to kale in flavour but have large flat leaves and are almost always cooked rather than eaten raw. Spinach is much more delicate — it wilts quickly when heated and has a milder, slightly sweet taste — so it works well in both raw salads and quick sautés. Lettuce is the mildest and crunchiest of the group, with a high water content that makes it unsuitable for cooking. For a simple roasted side dish, kale holds its shape better than spinach or lettuce; for a cold salad, young kale can replace lettuce or spinach when massaged with dressing to soften the leaves.

cabbage ↗collard greensspinach ↗lettuce ↗

Etymology

LatinOld EnglishEnglish

The word 'kale' comes from Old English 'cāl' or 'cawel', meaning cabbage. This goes back to Latin 'caulis', meaning a stem or stalk of a plant — the same root that later gave us 'cole' (as in 'coleslaw'), 'cauliflower', and 'broccoli'. The spelling 'kale' developed in northern English and Scottish dialects, where it became the everyday name for this particular cabbage variety that does not form a head.