Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

gherkin

/ˈɡɝkɪn/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: 2.11 in modern English

Syllables
gher-kin
IPA
/ˈɡɝkɪn/
15
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Pickled cucumber regardless of size; a pickle

British usage

noun

The penis.

Slang

name

Alternative letter-case form of Gherkin.

name

The building at 30 St Mary Axe, a distinctively-shaped skyscraper in London, England

British usage; Informal

Example Sentences

Etymology

From a form of Dutch gurk, an archaic variant of augurk (“small pickled cucumber”), from Low German, from Middle Low German agurke, augurke, probably via Slavic (compare Polish ogórek), from Byzantine Greek ἀγγούριον (angoúrion, “cucumber”). The underlying Dutch form may be a diminutive (gurkijn) or perhaps more probably the plural (gurken), which was then associated with the English suffix -kin (itself incidentally from Dutch or Low German). Compare German Gurke.

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: gurk, -, agurke, ἀγγούριον

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈɡɝkɪn/
  • British English: /ˈɡɜːkɪn/

Usage

Inflected Forms

Phrases

Rhymes With

Questions

How do you pronounce gherkin?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈɡɝkɪn/.
What does gherkin mean?
A small cucumber, often pickled whole.
Where does gherkin come from?
It is traced to Dutch.

How to pronounce gherkin

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “gherkin”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈɡɝkɪn/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “gherkin”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “gherkin” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.