cucurbit
UK /kjuˈkɜː.bɪt/ · US /kjuˈkɝ.bɪt/ noun
Forms cucurbits cucurbita cucurbite
- noun Any member of the family Cucurbitaceae of gourds.
- noun (obsolete) A receptacle, originally gourd-shaped and used for liquids or chemicals; a bottle or other container.
Etymology
From Middle English cocurbite, concurbite, cucurbita, cucurbite, from Middle French cucurbite and Latin cucurbita. Doublet of gourd.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A vessel of flask for distillation, used with, or forming part of, an alembic; a matrass; --originally in the shape of a gourd, with a wide mouth. See Alembic.
Etymology [L. cucurbita a gourd: cf. F. cucurbite. See Gourd.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “cucurbit”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details