noun a creeping plant, Cucumis sativus, of the gourd family, occurring in many cultivated forms.
the edible, fleshy fruit of this plant, of a cylindrical shape with rounded ends and having a green, warty skin.
any of various allied or similar plants.
the fruit of any such plant.
Origin of cucumber 1350–1400; Middle English cucumbre < Anglo-French, Old French co(u)combre < Latin cucumer-, stem of cucumis; replacing Middle English, Old English cucumer < Latin, as above
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Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for cucumber Contemporary Examples of cucumber Try explaining what a cucumber tastes like to a 19th century Inuit.
Together, we decide that the drink should be called a Cucumber Superlative.
“That scallop dish is just a raw scallop with a grilled cucumber and cucumber vinaigrette,” said McGarry.
Basil, cucumber , mangoes, the cooing of turtledoves on torrid afternoons, the screech of buses coming to a sudden halt.
One is to put Jason Bateman and Will Arnett in a bathtub together, with fluffy white facial masks and cucumber eye coolers.
Historical Examples of cucumber The cucumber should be boiled for five minutes before it is fried.
However, it is not him, for there he is, looking as cool as a cucumber .
So I felt like a cucumber pickle but now I don't mind it at all.
Although the Sioux chiefs were told of the danger, they were "as cool about it as a cucumber ."
The next moment, a cucumber caught Silvey squarely in the eye.
British Dictionary definitions for cucumber noun a creeping cucurbitaceous plant, Cucumis sativus, cultivated in many forms for its edible fruit Compare squirting cucumber the cylindrical fruit of this plant, which has hard thin green rind and white crisp flesh
any of various similar or related plants or their fruits
cool as a cucumber very calm; self-possessed
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Word Origin for cucumber C14: from Latin cucumis, of unknown origin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for cucumber n. late 14c., from Old French cocombre (13c., Modern French concombre ), from Latin cucumerem (nominative cucumis ), perhaps from a pre-Italic Mediterranean language. The Latin word also is the source of Italian cocomero , Spanish cohombro , Portuguese cogombro . Replaced Old English eorþæppla (plural), literally "earth-apples."
Cowcumber was common form 17c.-18c., and that pronunciation lingered into 19c. Planted as a garden vegetable by 1609 by Jamestown colonists. Phrase cool as a cucumber (c.1732) embodies ancient folk knowledge confirmed by science in 1970: inside of a field cucumber on a warm day is 20 degrees cooler than the air temperature.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Idioms and Phrases with cucumber The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
