calabash

American  

[kal-uh-bash] / ˈkæl əˌbæʃ /

noun

1. any of various gourds, especially the bottle gourd, Lagenaria siceraria.

2. a tropical American tree, Crescentia cujete, of the bignonia family, bearing large, gourdlike fruit.

3. any of several other plants having gourdlike fruit.

4. the fruit of any of these plants.

5. the dried, hollowed-out shell of any of these fruits, used as a container or utensil.

6. a bottle, kettle, ladle, etc., made from such a shell.

7. a tobacco pipe with a large bowl made from a calabash and usually having a curved stem.

8. a gourd used as a rattle, drum, etc.

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calabash British  

/ ˈkæləˌbæʃ /

noun

1. Also called: calabash tree.  a tropical American evergreen tree, Crescentia cujete, that produces large round gourds: family Bignoniaceae

2. another name for the bottle gourd

3. the gourd of either of these plants

4. the dried hollow shell of a gourd used as the bowl of a tobacco pipe, a bottle, rattle, etc

5. a tropical African shrub, Monodora myristica, whose oily aromatic seeds can be used as nutmegs: family Annonaceae

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Etymology

Origin of calabash

1590–1600; < Middle French calabasse < Spanish calabaza < Catalan carabaça, perhaps < Arabic qarʿah yābisah gourd (that is) dry

Example Sentences

At first glance they look like the calabash used in many villages to store milk, oil or water.

From BBC • Feb. 10, 2024

In one painting, a woman pours a liquid from a calabash, which is made up of pieces of brown 1,000 and 50 billion Zimbabwe dollar notes.

From Reuters • Sep. 16, 2021

After squeezing the slice of lime that floated in a calabash bowl of warm water, I pulled my hands from the gourd shell and instinctively pressed them to my nose, inhaling the tropical perfume.

From Washington Post • Aug. 12, 2019

Horchata can also be made from sesame seeds, calabash tree seeds and other plant products.

From Los Angeles Times • May 23, 2019

One of them found a calabash Nhamo was certain was empty and dived her head inside.

From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer