pumpkin
Meanings
noun
- A domesticated plant, in species Cucurbita pepo, similar in growth pattern, foliage, flower, and fruit to the squash or melon.
- The round yellow or orange fruit of this plant.
- The typical color of the ripe fruit of the pumpkin plant.
- Any of a number of cultivars from the genus Cucurbita; known in the US as winter squash.
- A term of endearment for someone small and cute.
- The housing for a differential, built into an axle of a vehicle; the housing and its contents.
Pronunciation
Word forms
Etymology
Alteration of pompion, pumpion (“pumpkin”) with the diminutive -kin, from Middle French pompon, from Latin pepō (whence English pepo), from Ancient Greek πέπων (pépōn, “large melon”), from πέπων (pépōn, “ripe”), from πέπτω (péptō, “ripen”). The first attestation is from 1647. The alternative theory that it may be from Massachusett pôhpukun (“grows forth round”) is false. The automotive sense is by fancied resemblance.
Related words
Derived words
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