calabash
Use Calabash in a sentence
əˌbæʃ noun
1.
any of various gourds, especially 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.
Origin:
1590–1600; < Middle French calabasse < Spanish calabaza < Catalan carabaça, perhaps < Arabic qarʿah yābisah gourd (that is) dry
1590–1600; < Middle French calabasse < Spanish calabaza < Catalan carabaça, perhaps < Arabic qarʿah yābisah gourd (that is) dry
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
|
Link To calabash
00:10
Calabash
is always a great word to know.
So is ninnyhammer. Does it mean:
| a gadget; dingus; thingumbob. |
| a fool or simpleton; ninny. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
calabash (ˈkæləˌbæʃ) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | Also called: calabash tree a tropical American evergreen tree, Crescentia cujete, that produces large round gourds: family Bignoniaceae |
| 2. | another name for the bottle gourd |
| 3. | the gourd of either of these plants |
| 4. | the dried hollow shell of a gourd used as the bowl of a tobacco pipe, a bottle, rattle, etc |
| 5. | calabash nutmeg a tropical African shrub, Monodora myristica, whose oily aromatic seeds can be used as nutmegs: family Annonaceae |
| [C17: from obsolete French calabasse, from Spanish calabaza, perhaps from Arabic qar`ah yābisah dry gourd, from qar`ah gourd + yābisah dry] | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
calabash
1590s, "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, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Cite This Source
Example sentences
The bucket of water was set on the ground, with the upside-down calabash placed on top.
Underneath, two rows of calabash gourds serve as natural amplifiers.
The slats are secured over two rows of calabash gourds, which serve as natural amplifiers.
Calabash was named after gourds that grew in the region, which were used for drinking.
Nearby Words
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
