cucurbita
[kʊˈkʊr.bɪ.ta]
The Latin word for pumpkin is cucurbita.
The word refers to the fruit of the pumpkin plant.
Meaning: fruit of this plant (noun)
Did you know?
- Because pumpkins are native to the Americas, the Romans never saw a modern 'pumpkin', so they used cucurbita for Mediterranean gourds.
- Roman cooks did use cucurbita in the kitchen. The cookbook attributed to Apicius gives a whole series of gourd recipes.
- In botanical Latin, cucurbita acts as a broader category that includes many different types of gourds and melons, not just the modern pumpkin.
Examples in context
- In hortis nascuntur Olera, ut Lactuca, Brassica, Cepa, Allium, Cucurbita, Siser, Rapa, Rhaphanus minor, Raphanus Major, Petroselinum, Cucumeres, Pepones.Pot herbs grow in gardens, such as lettuce, cabbage, onions, garlic, gourd, parsnip, turnip, radish, horse radish, parsley, cucumbers and pumpkin.This sentence is useful for seeing cucurbita listed among various vegetables grown in a garden.Tatoeba #7309930 by jimkillock, translation #7309945 by jimkillock
Example conversation
Aurelia and Marcus are in a kitchen preparing a meal.
- AureliaMarce, ubi est cucurbita?Marcus, where is the pumpkin?
- MarcusCucurbita in mensa est.The pumpkin is on the table.
- AureliaOptime, nunc eam coquam.Great, now I will cook it.
- MarcusEa erit optima cena.It will be an excellent dinner.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry cucurbita, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries cucurbita, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
