a black vinifera grape grown for table use.
the vine itself.
(lowercase) a cucumber pickle; gherkin.
1965–70; < French: literally, little horn, equivalent to corne horn + -ichon diminutive suffix
A cornichon is a tart, crunchy little pickle. You can eat cornichons on their own, or chop them up and add them to your tuna or egg salad. In the U.K., people call these tiny pickles gherkins, but in France and the U.S., they're cornichons. Traditionally, cornichons are very small cucumbers pickled in vinegar and flavored with tarragon. They're tart, but much less sour and salty than dill pickles. The French cornichon literally means "little horn," from the Latin cornu, "animal horn."
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
This is an excellent system for Malaga, Emperor, and Cornichon when growing in very fertile soil.
From Manual of American Grape-Growing by Hedrick, U. P.
You must ring for the porter if you would go in to Cornichon; and the porter must, by a jerk at a string, unlatch the street door if Cornichon wishes to come out to you.
From A Tramp's Wallet stored by an English goldsmith during his wanderings in Germany and France by Duthie, William
For many of these ornaments I was not so much answerable as Cornichon, whom Lauraguais lent me, and who was the intendant of my buildings during my absence abroad.
From Barry Lyndon by Thackeray, William Makepeace
My friend Cornichon, who is a goldsmith, works as long as a painter or a smith.
From A Tramp's Wallet stored by an English goldsmith during his wanderings in Germany and France by Duthie, William
Cornichon made complaints about the 'Abbe Huff,' as he called him.
From Barry Lyndon by Thackeray, William Makepeace
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
