A plant with yellow flowers related to cabbage and mustard, grown for its seeds which produce oil used for cooking and fuel.
From Dutch 'koolzaad' (cabbage seed), combining 'kool' (cabbage) and 'zaad' (seed). The term entered English in the 18th century as European traders exchanged the plant and its uses.
Colza oil was hugely important before petroleum—it lit lamps and greased machinery, and it's still grown worldwide today! Modern canola oil actually comes from a specially bred low-acid variety of colza.
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