coleseed
(ˈkəʊlsiːd)
[f. cole n.1+ seed; cf. MLG. kôlsât (c 1300), Du. koolzaad, Ger. kohlsaat, Da. kaalsäd, Sw. kålsat; and see colza.]
† 1. The seed of the cabbage or its varieties.
| c 1000 Sax. Leechd. III. 72 Nim..cawel sæd & cyllelendran. |
2. The seed of Brassica campestris or Napus, var. oleifera, the source of ‘rape’ or ‘sweet’ oil; also the plant, cultivated for its seed.
[In this sense ad. Du. or LG. c 1600. It had long been cultivated in the Netherlands and North Germany; Gerarde (1597) had ‘heard it reported, that it [Nauew gentle] is at this day sowne in England for the same purpose.’]
| 1670 Evelyn Mem. (1857) II. 53 A rich harvest of hemp and cole-seed. 1725 Bradley Fam. Dict. s.v. Marle, Coleseed, Hop-Clover, or any other Sort of Grass Seeds, grow very well on marl'd Ground. 1787 Withering Brit. Plants (ed. 2) II. 708 Its seeds [Brassica Napus] which are called Cole seed, afford a large quantity of expressed oil, called Rape oil. 1799 J. Robertson Agric. Perth 187 The ground is prepared for rape or cole-seed, in the same manner as for a crop of turnips. 1861 Miss Pratt Flower. Pl. I. 144 Brassica Napus (Rape or Cole-seed)..Plant biennial. |