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cucumber - 6 dictionary results
cu⋅cum⋅ber
[kyoo-kuhm-ber] 
–noun
| 1. | a creeping plant, Cucumis sativus, of the gourd family, occurring in many cultivated forms. |
| 2. | the edible, fleshy fruit of this plant, of a cylindrical shape with rounded ends and having a green, warty skin. |
| 3. | any of various allied or similar plants. |
| 4. | the fruit of any such plant. |
Origin:
1350–1400; ME cucumbre < AF, OF co(u)combre < L cucumer-, s. of cucumis; r. ME, OE cucumer < L, as above
1350–1400; ME cucumbre < AF, OF co(u)combre < L cucumer-, s. of cucumis; r. ME, OE cucumer < L, as above
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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|
Link To cucumber
| cu·cum·ber (kyōō'kŭm'bər) n.
[Middle English cucomer, from Old French coucombre, from Latin cucumis, cucumer-.] |
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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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Cucumber
Cu"cum*ber\ (k?`k?m-b?r, formerly kou"k?m-b?r), n.[OE. cucumer, cocumber, cucumber, fr. L. cucmis, gen. cucumeris; cf. OF. cocombre,F. concombre.] (Bot.) A creeping plant, and its fruit, of several species of the genus Cucumis, esp. Cucumis sativus, the unripe fruit of which is eaten either fresh or picked. Also, similar plants or fruits of several other genera. See below. Bitter cucumber (Bot.), the Citrullus or Cucumis Colocynthis. See Colocynth. Cucumber beetle. (Zo["o]l.) (a) A small, black flea-beetle (Crepidodera cucumeris), which destroys the leaves of cucumber, squash, and melon vines. (b) The squash beetle. Cucumber tree. (a) A large ornamental or shade tree of the genus Magnolia (M. acuminata), so called from a slight resemblance of its young fruit to a small cucumber. (b) An East Indian plant (Averrhoa Bilimbi) which produces the fruit known as bilimbi. Jamaica cucumber, Jerusalem cucumber, the prickly-fruited gherkin (Cucumis Anguria). Snake cucumber, a species (Cucumis flexuosus) remarkable for its long, curiously-shaped fruit. Squirting cucumber, a plant (Ecbalium Elaterium) whose small oval fruit separates from the footstalk when ripe and expels its seeds and juice with considerable force through the opening thus made. See Elaterium. Star cucumber, a climbing weed (Sicyos angulatus) with prickly fruit.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : cucumber
Spanish:
pepino,
German:
die Gurke,
Japanese:
きゅうり
cucumber
c.1384, from O.Fr. cocombre, from L. cucumis (acc. cucumerem), perhaps from a pre-Italic Mediterranean language. Replaced O.E. eorþæppla (pl.), lit. "earth-apples." Cowcumber was common form 17c.-18c., and that pronunciation lingered into 19c. Planted as a garden vegetable by 1609 by Jamestown colonists. Phrase cool as a cucumber (c.1732) embodies ancient folk knowledge confirmed by science in 1970: inside of a field cucumber on a warm day is 20 degrees cooler than the air temperature.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: cu·cum·ber
Pronunciation: 'kyü-(")k&m-b&r
Function: noun
: the fruit of a vine (Cucumis sativus) of the gourdfamily that is cultivated as a garden vegetable and that has diuretic seeds; also : this vine
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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cucumber
see cool as a cucumber.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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