[gur-kin] 
| 1. | the small, immature fruit of a variety of cucumber, used in pickling. |
| 2. | Also called bur gherkin, gooseberry gourd, West Indian gherkin. the small, spiny fruit of a tropical vine, Cucumis anguria, of the gourd family, used in pickling. |
| 3. | the plant yielding this fruit. |
| 4. | a small pickle, esp. one made from this fruit. |
| gher·kin (gûr'kĭn) n.
[Dutch gurken, pl. of gurk, cucumber, short for agurk, possibly from Polish ogorek, perhaps from Late Greek angourion.] |
gherkin
(Cucumis anguria), trailing vine, of the gourd family (Cucurbitaceae), grown for its edible fruit. The gherkins sold in pickle mixtures are not C. anguria but rather are small pickled immature fruits of cultivars of the cucumber (C. sativus). A true gherkin has palmately lobed leaves with toothed edges, small flowers, and furrowed, prickly fruits about five centimetres (two inches) long that are borne on crooked stalks. Although its fruit is also pickled, the plant is frequently grown only as a curiosity.
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