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CALABASH

 - 3 dictionary results

cal⋅a⋅bash

[kal-uh-bash]
–noun
1. any of various gourds, esp. the bottle gourd, Lagenaria siceraria.
2. a tropical American tree, Crescentia cujete, of the bignonia family, bearing large, gourdlike fruit.
3. any of several other plants having gourdlike fruit.
4. the fruit of any of these plants.
5. the dried, hollowed-out shell of any of these fruits, used as a container or utensil.
6. a bottle, kettle, ladle, etc., made from such a shell.
7. a tobacco pipe with a large bowl made from a calabash and usually having a curved stem.
8. a gourd used as a rattle, drum, etc.

Origin:
1590–1600; < MF calabasse < Sp calabaza < Catalan carabaça, perh. < Ar qarʿah yābisah gourd (that is) dry
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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cal·a·bash   (kāl'ə-bāsh')   
n.  
  1. An annual vine (Lagenaria siceraria) having white flowers and smooth, large, hard-shelled gourds. Also called bottle gourd, white-flowered gourd.

  2. A tropical American tree (Crescentia cujete) bearing hard-shelled, gourdlike fruits on the trunk and main branches. Also called calabash tree.

  3. Any of certain similar or related plants.

  4. The fruit of any of these plants.

  5. A utensil or container made from the dried, hollowed-out shell of any of these fruits.

  6. A smoking pipe with a curved stem and a large bowl made from the shell of a gourd.


[French calebasse, gourd, from Spanish calabaza, from Catalan carabaça, perhaps from Arabic qar'a yābisa, dried gourd : qar'a, gourd + yābisa, feminine of yābis, dried, participle of yabisa, to become dry; see ybš in Semitic roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

calabash 
1596, "dried, hollowed gourd used as a drinking cup," from Sp. calabaza, possibly from Arabic qar'a yabisa "dry gourd," from Pers. kharabuz, used of various large melons; or from a pre-Roman Iberian *calapaccia.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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