pumpkin
[ puhmp-kin or, commonly, puhng-kin ]
/ ˈpʌmp kɪn or, commonly, ˈpʌŋ kɪn /
noun
a large, edible, orange-yellow fruit borne by a coarse, decumbent vine, Cucurbita pepo, of the gourd family.
the similar fruit of any of several related species, as C. maxima or C. moschata.
a plant bearing such fruit.
Origin of pumpkin
1640–50; alteration of
pumpion (see
-kin), variant of
pompon < Middle French, nasalized variant of
popon melon, earlier
pepon < Latin
pepōn- (stem of
pepō) < Greek
pépōn kind of melon
Words nearby pumpkin
pump-oxygenator,
pumped storage,
pumper,
pumpernickel,
pumping,
pumpkin,
pumpkin head,
pumpking,
pumpkinseed,
pumpman,
pun
Example sentences from the Web for pumpkin
British Dictionary definitions for pumpkin
pumpkin
/ (ˈpʌmpkɪn) /
noun
any of several creeping cucurbitaceous plants of the genus Cucurbita, esp C. pepo of North America and C. maxima of Europe
- the large round fruit of any of these plants, which has a thick orange rind, pulpy flesh, and numerous seeds
- (as modifier)pumpkin pie
(often capital) mainly US
a term of endearment
Word Origin for pumpkin
C17: from earlier
pumpion, from Old French
pompon, from Latin
pepo, from Greek
pepōn, from
pepōn ripe, from
peptein to ripen