collard n.

also coleslaw, cole slaw, "finely chopped cabbage dressed with vinegar, salt, etc. and eaten as a salad," 1794 ("A piece of sliced cabbage, by Dutchmen ycleped cold slaw"), American English, a partial translation of Dutch koolsla, literally "cabbage salad," from kool "cabbage" (see cole) + sla "salad" (see slaw). Cold slaw is a folk-etymology common until 1860s, when cole was revived in English.

"a plant," Old English wyrt "root, herb, vegetable, plant, spice," from Proto-Germanic *wurtiz (source also of Old Saxon wurt, Old Norse, Danish urt, Old High German wurz "plant, herb," German Wurz, Gothic waurts, Old Norse rot "root"), from PIE root *wrād- "branch, root." St. John's wort attested from 15c.