1424 Kohl Reception

I was reading a book recently and the word kohl came up. That’s right kohl, spelled k-o-h-l-. I’d never really encountered it in real life before. Except as the name of the big department store.
I assumed, as one naturally would, that Kohl’s the department store was named after someone in a family named Kohl. That’s probably true. But now other possibilities entered the notion department of my brain. Or possibly the close-out department.
Because the “kohl” that I had read is actually a word for an ancient type of eye shadow from the Middle East and Africa. The original concoction involved grinding up lead sulfide. Not so much anymore. They used to put lead in Grecian Formula men’s hair color too. Now they think lead so close to the brain is not so smart.
My spellchecker in Microsoft word actually offers as synonyms for kohl: eye shadow, eyeliner and eye makeup. As in, “She applied kohl as she prepared for the evening.”
Kohl and eyeliner, go figure. The things you don’t know. My surprise was as complete as that of one of my wives when I first told her about the actual use of athletic cups. It promptly vanished from here clever WWII Aviator Halloween costume.
Pursuing the word kohl further, I also found out it’s a German word that means cabbage. We have a remnant here in English with kohlrabi. And it’s a fair bet the cole in coleslaw was originally spelled k-o-h-l-.
As far as I could tell no one ever made eye shadow out of cabbages but who knows? Gee honey, is that coleslaw on your face?
So the big question? Did Kohl’s the department store start out as an eye makeup store? Or were they originally a German cabbage market?
America, ya gotta love it.