pumpkin
/ˈpʌm(p).kɪn/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.83 in modern English
17
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A domesticated plant, in species Cucurbita pepo, similar in growth pattern, foliage, flower, and fruit to the squash or melon.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
Any of a number of cultivars from the genus Cucurbita; known in the US as winter squash.
Australian usage; Countable; Uncountable
noun
The housing for a differential, built into an axle of a vehicle; the housing and its contents.
Countable; Informal; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "Nevertheless, the comprehensive comparative analysis of pumpkin viromes across various geographic regions by NGS remains deficient."
- "There were pumpkins in Mombi’s corn-fields, lying golden red among the rows of green stalks; and these had been planted and carefully tended that the four-horned cow might eat of them in the winter time."
- "You must be daddy’s little pumpkin."
Etymology
Alteration of pompion, pumpion (“pumpkin”) with the diminutive -kin, from Middle French pompon, from Latin pepō (whence English pepo), from Ancient Greek πέπων (pépōn, “large melon”), from πέπων (pépōn, “ripe”), from πέπτω (péptō, “ripen”). The first attestation is from 1647. The alternative theory that it may be from Massachusett pôhpukun (“grows forth round”) is false. The automotive sense is by fancied resemblance.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈpʌm(p).kɪn/
- British English: /ˈpʌmpkɪn/
Usage
- Countable
- Uncountable
- Australian usage
- American usage
- Informal
Inflected Forms
Derived Forms
blumpkin
bushpumpkin
cherpumple
pumpkindom
pumpkineer
pumpking
pumpkinification
pumpkinish
pumpkinless
pumpkinlike
pumpkinrita
pumpkinseed