Etymology

Recorded since 1748. Named after Brussels, the capital city of the duchy of Brabant and presently of Belgium. sprout is from -sprutan (in asprutan "to sprout"; cognate with Old Saxon sprutan, Old Frisian spruta, Middle Dutch spruten, modern Dutch spruit 'sprout; Brussels sprout' Old High German spriozan, German spreissen "to sprout"), from the Proto-Germanic root *spreutanan , from PIE base *sper- "to strew"

Noun

1. The green vegetable Brassica oleracea gemmifera, a cabbage native to Belgium. They reach a length of 4 centimeters and resemble clusters of miniature cabbage.