gherkin
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gher·kin
(gûr′kĭn)n.
1.
a. A small cucumber, especially one used for pickling.
b. A pickle made from such a fruit.
2.
a. A vine (Cucumis anguria) native to Africa and widely cultivated especially in the West Indies, having prickly fruit often harvested when immature for pickling.
b. The fruit of this plant.
[Ultimately (via early Modern Dutch gurkijn (Modern Dutch gurkje), diminutive of Dutch gurk, gherkin, aphetic variant of agurk, or possibly via Dutch agurken, plural of agurk, taken in English as a singular a gurken) from Dutch agurk, variant of augurk, ultimately from a Slavic source such as Polish ogórek, partial translation (with diminutive suffix -ek) of Byzantine Greek angourion, watermelon, gherkin, from diminutive of Late Greek angouros, a single grape, bunch of grapes, probably originally meaning "small, unripe fruit," from expressive alteration of Greek aōros, out of season, unripe : a-, not; see a-1 + hōra, season, time; see yēr- in Indo-European roots.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
gherkin
(ˈɡɜːkɪn)n
1. (Cookery) the immature fruit of any of various cucumbers, used for pickling
2. (Plants)
a. a tropical American cucurbitaceous climbing plant, Cucumis anguria
b. the small edible fruit of this plant
[C17: from early modern Dutch agurkkijn, diminutive of gurk, from Slavonic, ultimately from Greek angourion]
Gherkin
(ˈɡɜːkɪn)n
(Named Buildings) the Gherkin an informal name for Swiss Re Tower
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
gher•kin
(ˈgɜr kɪn)n.
1. the small immature fruit of a variety of cucumber, used in pickling.
2.
a. the small spiny fruit of a tropical vine, Cucumis anguria, of the gourd family, used in pickling.
b. the plant yielding this fruit.
3. a small pickle, esp. one made from this fruit.
[1655–65; < Dutch gurken, pl. of gurk (German Gurke) < Slavic; compare Polish ogórek, Czech okurka « Persian]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
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| Noun | 1. |  gherkin - any of various small cucumbers pickled wholepickle - vegetables (especially cucumbers) preserved in brine or vinegar |
| 2. | gherkin - small prickly cucumber |
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Translations
cocktailkurkku
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
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gherkin
n → Gewürz- or Essiggurke f
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
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