Jump To:

• Cornichon
  Cornichon

  noun

  a black vinifera grape grown for table use.
• cornichon
  cornichon

  noun

  a type of small gherkin

Cornichon

American  

[kawr-ni-shon] / ˈkɔr nɪˌʃɒn /

noun

1. a black vinifera grape grown for table use.

2. the vine itself.

3. (lowercase) a cucumber pickle; gherkin.

---

cornichon British  

/ ˈkɔːnɪˌʃɒn /

noun

1. a type of small gherkin

---

Etymology

Origin of Cornichon

1965–70; < French: literally, little horn, equivalent to corne horn + -ichon diminutive suffix

---

Explanation

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."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Cornichon cornichon

It is used especially for the Cornichon and Malaga in rich soil.

From Manual of American Grape-Growing by U. P. Hedrick

Cornichon and Friponnet dine in the street Chabannais; have soup at a penny a portion, small plates of p. 144meat at twopence each, dessert at a penny, and halfpenny slips of bread. 

From A Tramp's Wallet stored by an English goldsmith during his wanderings in Germany and France by William Duthie

Cornichon lives in room number thirty-six on the third floor of a furnished lodging house in the street du Petit Lion. 

From A Tramp's Wallet stored by an English goldsmith during his wanderings in Germany and France by William Duthie

Cornichon made complaints about the 'Abbe Huff,' as he called him.

From Barry Lyndon by William Makepeace Thackeray

How shall I prune grape vines, viz: Tokay, Black Cornichon, Muscat, Thompson Seedless, Rose of Peru, planted for a grape arbor?

From One Thousand Questions in California Agriculture Answered by Edward J. (Edward James) Wickson

So instead, I headed back toward where I started, walking past the high-end shops of Melrose Place before arriving at Zinque for a simple prosciutto and cornichon sandwich and an Arnold Palmer.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 27, 2026

We already know this works with a spear, but a cornichon or pickle chip wrapped in fried cheese could be more stackable.

From Salon ● Jan. 29, 2023

Even by the standards of London’s glassy skyscraper district, which includes buildings nicknamed for a walkie-talkie and a cornichon, the Tulip would have been a weird one.

From Slate ● Dec. 6, 2021

Serve the burgers, 2 per person, sizzling from the pan with the tomato and cornichon salad at their side and a spoonful of the lemon sauce.

From The Guardian ● May 21, 2019

Think of British pub fare, the ploughman’s lunch, where onion pickle is a must, or a French country pâté served with a briny pickled onion nestled next to the cornichon.

From Washington Post

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---