pepo

American  

[pee-poh] / ˈpi poʊ /

noun

plural

pepos

1. the characteristic fruit of plants of the gourd family, having a fleshy, many-seeded interior and a hard or firm rind, as the gourd, melon, and cucumber.

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pepo British  

/ ˈpiːpəʊ /

noun

1. the fruit of any of various cucurbitaceous plants, such as the melon, squash, cucumber, and pumpkin, having a firm rind, fleshy watery pulp, and numerous seeds

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Etymology

Origin of pepo

1700–10; < Latin pepō large melon, pumpkin < Greek pépōn, short for pépōn ( síkyos ) ripe (gourd)

Example Sentences

The fruit itself is classified as a pepo, which is a type of berry.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 11, 2022

The Roman naturalist, Pliny the Elder, was also a fan, describing the pepo as a refrigerant maxime—an extremely cooling food—in his first century encyclopedia, Historia Naturalis.

From National Geographic • Aug. 21, 2015

Surprisingly, it’s a cultivar of Cucurbita moschata, the species that includes most winter squash, as opposed to C. pepo, which comprises most summer ones.

From Washington Post

Different varieties of the same species replace each other among the kidney beans, lima beans, the chili pepper Capsicum annuum / chinense, and the squash Cucurbita pepo.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

Cucurbita pepo, a common coarse pumpkin in Shoa, serves as a vegetable.

From The Highlands of Ethiopia by Harris, William Cornwallis

Related Words

• cantaloupe
• gourd
• papaya
• watermelon