Broccoli is a vegetable with green stalks and green or purple tops.
broccoli in British English
(ˈbrɒkəlɪ)
noun
1.
a cultivated variety of cabbage, Brassica oleracea italica, having branched greenish flower heads
2.
the flower head of this plant, eaten as a vegetable before the buds have opened
3.
a variety of this plant that does not form a head, whose stalks are eaten as a vegetable
Word origin
C17: from Italian, plural of broccolo a little sprout, from brocco sprout, spike; see brocade
broccoli in American English
(ˈbrɑkəli)
noun
1.
a plant (Brassica oleracea var. italica) of the crucifer family, related to the cauliflower but bearing tender shoots with greenish buds cooked as a vegetable
2.
any of several strains of cauliflower
Word origin
It, pl. of broccolo, a sprout, cabbage sprout, dim. of brocco: see broach