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Added 10 October 2026

cucumber

/ˈkjuːˌkʌmbə/ noun

In Latin: cucumis Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about cucumber at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A melon vine of the genus Cucumis; cultivated from earliest times for its cylindrical green fruit.
Cylindrical green fruit with thin green rind and white flesh eaten as a vegetable; related to melons.

Origin

From Middle English cucumer, cucumber, from Old French cocombre, ultimately from Latin cucumis, cucumerem (possibly through an Old Occitan intermediate). Probably of Pre-Italic substrate origin. First attested in the late 14c. Displaced native English earthapple (see which for more), which has since acquired other senses.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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