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pumpkin
[ puhmp-kin or, commonly, puhng-kin ]
/ ˈpʌmp kɪn or, commonly, ˈpʌŋ kɪn /
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noun
a large, edible, orange-yellow fruit borne by a coarse, decumbent vine, Cucurbita pepo, of the gourd family.
the similar fruit of any of several related species, as C. maxima or C. moschata.
a plant bearing such fruit.
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Origin of pumpkin
1640–50; alteration of pumpion (see -kin), variant of pompon<Middle French, nasalized variant of popon melon, earlier pepon<Latin pepōn- (stem of pepō) <Greek pépōn kind of melon
Words nearby pumpkin
pumper, pumpernickel, pump gun, pumping, pump iron, pumpkin, pumpking, pumpkin head, pumpkinseed, pump lung, pumpman
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
How to use pumpkin in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for pumpkin
pumpkin
/ (ˈpʌmpkɪn) /
noun
any of several creeping cucurbitaceous plants of the genus Cucurbita, esp C. pepo of North America and C. maxima of Europe
- the large round fruit of any of these plants, which has a thick orange rind, pulpy flesh, and numerous seeds
- (as modifier)pumpkin pie
(often capital) mainly US a term of endearment
Word Origin for pumpkin
C17: from earlier pumpion, from Old French pompon, from Latin pepo, from Greek pepōn, from pepōn ripe, from peptein to ripen
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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