cucurbit

[ kyoo-kur-bit ]

noun

a gourd.
any plant of the gourd family.

Chemistry. the gourd-shaped portion of an alembic, a vessel formerly used in distilling.

Origin of cucurbit

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English cucurbite, from Anglo-French, Old French, from Latin cucurbita “gourd, cupping glass”; cf. gourd, courgette

Words Nearby cucurbit

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use cucurbit in a sentence

The force of the steam had broken the instrument to such an extent that the cucurbit was pinned to the head of the still.
Bouvard and Pcuchet | Gustave Flaubert
But the proportions are given, and here stands a glass cucurbit in which they should be mingled.
Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Volume 1, No. 2, July, 1850. | Various
On the small scale, a very capacious, flat-bottomed retort or cucurbit should be employed.
Cooley's Cyclopdia of Practical Receipts and Collateral Information in the Arts, Manufactures, Professions, and Trades..., Sixth Edition, Volume I | Arnold Cooley
Pour on them two ounces of water, and set the cucurbit into a sand-bath.
Elements of the Theory and Practice of Chymistry, 5th ed. | Pierre Joseph Macquer
Matrass, mat′ras, n. a chemical vessel with a tapering neck, a cucurbit.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M) | Various

British Dictionary definitions for cucurbit

cucurbit

/ (kjuːˈkɜːbɪt) /

noun

any creeping flowering plant of the mainly tropical and subtropical family Cucurbitaceae, which includes the pumpkin, cucumber, squashes, and gourds

Origin of cucurbit

C14: from Old French, from Latin cucurbita gourd, cup

Derived forms of cucurbit

cucurbitaceous, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Browse