cucumbern.
/ˈkjuːkʌmbə/, U.S. /ˈkjuˌkəmbər/ 1. A creeping plant, Cucumis sativus (family Cucurbitaceæ), a native of southern Asia, from ancient times cultivated for its fruit: see 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > particular vegetables > [noun] > fruits as vegetables > cucumber > cucumber plant
cucumber1382
serpent cucumber1760
serpent melon1779
ridge cucumber1830
1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) Baruch vi. 69 Where cucumeris, that ben bitter herbis, waxen.
1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomew de Glanville De Proprietatibus Rerum xvii. xliv. (Tollem. MS.) Cucumer..is an herbe, of þe whiche Isidor spekeþ.
1551 W. Turner Herball (1568) i. M iv b The fruyte of the cucumbre is for the most part yelow and long.
1584 R. Scot Discouerie Witchcraft xiii. viii. 302 The cowcumber loueth water.
1634 J. Levett Ordering of Bees 57 Wormwood, Woad, wilde Cucumers, Mayweed.
1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory ii. 103/2 [Of] Cowcumber, or Cucumber, the branch traileth on the ground.
1714 Philos. Trans. 1713 (Royal Soc.) 28 229 The Juice of the Leaves of Cowcomber bruised.
1830 J. Baxter Libr. Agric. & Hort. Knowl. 153 The cucumber is a tender annual, introduced into this country in 1573 from the East Indies.
2.
a. The long fleshy fruit of this plant, commonly eaten (cut into thin slices) as a cooling salad, and when young used for pickling (see gherkin n.).
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the world > food and drink > food > fruit and vegetables > vegetables > fruits as vegetables > [noun] > cucumber
cucumberc1400
cuke1903
cue1935
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > particular vegetables > [noun] > fruits as vegetables > cucumber
earth appleOE
cucumberc1400
cuke1903
cue1935
c1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 275 Of erbis he schal ete fenel..melones, cucumeris.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) 2 Kings iv. 39 Then went there one in to the felde..& gathered wylde Cucumbers.
1582 N. Lichefield tr. F. L. de Castanheda 1st Bk. Hist. Discouerie E. Indias 61 a [They] brought to sell many gourds and cowcombers.
1646 Sir T. Browne Pseudodoxia Epidemica vii. i. 339 Resembling..in taste a Melon or Cowcumber . View more context for this quotation
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iv, in tr. Virgil Wks. 127 Cucumers along the Surface creep, With crooked Bodies, and with Bellies deep. View more context for this quotation
1732 J. Arbuthnot Pract. Rules of Diet i. 248 The Juice of Cucumbers is too cold for some Stomachs.
1855 ‘E. S. Delamer’ Kitchen Garden 118 In England the first cucumbers fetch high prices.
b. cool (†cold) as a cucumber (humorous): perfectly ‘cool’ or self-possessed; showing no excitement or disturbance of feeling.
ΘΠ
the mind > emotion > calmness > self-possession or self-control > [adjective]
coolc1430
coldc1500
within oneself (itself, etc.)1518
cool-headed1684
present to oneself1692
possesseda1698
self-restrained1700
self-collecteda1711
cool (cold) as a cucumbera1732
self-possessing1732
self-regulating1755
cool-brained1765
self-possessed1766
self-restraining1777
self-disciplined?1791
self-controlling1796
self-repressed1814
self-controlled1822
self-contained1838
self-repressing1849
unimpulsive1856
posé1858
downbeat1953
cucumber-cool1955
supercool1965
a1732 J. Gay New Song Similes in Poems iii I..cool as a cucumber could see The rest of womankind.
1760 T. Gray Let. 29 June in Corr. (1971) II. 685 It was dry as a stick, hard as a stone, and cold as a cucumber.
1838 T. De Quincey Brief Appraisal Greek Lit. in Tait's Edinb. Mag. Dec. 773/2 Thucydides..is as cool as a cucumber upon every act of atrocity.
1851 D. Jerrold (title) Cool as a Cucumber.
c. slang. Used with some obscure reference to a tailor. Hence cucumber time, cucumber season: see quots.
ΚΠ
1699 B. E. New Dict. Canting Crew Cucumbers, Taylers. Cucumber-time, Taylers Holiday, when they have leave to Play, and Cucumbers are in Season.
1720 in Roxburghe Ballads (1891) VII. 471 Here a scratch, there a stitch, And sing Cucumber, Cucumber ho!
1764 S. Foote Mayor of Garret in W. Hone Every-day Bk. (1827) II. 848 A journeyman tailor!..This cross-legg'd cabbage-eating son of a cucumber.
1865 Pall Mall Gaz. 4 Sept. 16/2 Tailors could not be expected to earn much money ‘in cucumber season’..‘Because when cucumbers are in, the gentry are out of town’.
3.
a. Applied to other plants allied to or in some way resembling the common cucumber: as bitter cucumber n. the Colocynth, Citrullus Colocynthis. Indian cucumber n. = cucumber-root n. at Compounds 2. one-seeded cucumber n., single-seeded cucumber n., star cucumber n. the genus Sicyos. serpent cucumber n. (or snake cucumber) Trichosanthes colubrina and T. anguina, also Cucumis flexuosus (from the appearance of the fruit). spirting cucumber n. (or squirting cucumber) Ecballium elaterium (formerly called Momordica Elaterium), the fruit of which when ripe separates from the stalk, and expels the seeds and pulp with considerable force.
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the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular medicinal plants or parts > [noun] > bitter-apple plant or berry
wild vinea1382
coloquintidaa1398
coloquintc1420
wild gourd1540
colocynth1565
coloquinto1683
coloquintid1732
bitter gourd1755
bitter cucumber1811
karela1839
bitter-apple1865
1548 W. Turner Names of Herbes sig. C.vv Cucumis sylvestris..maye be called in englyshe wylde cucummer or leapyng cucumer.
1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball iii. xl. 372 Of the wilde spirting Cucumbre..This Cucumber is called..in Englishe Wilde Cucumber, or leaping Cucumber.
1811 A. T. Thomson London Dispensatory ii. 138 The Pulp of Coloquintida, or Bitter Cucumber.
1866 J. Lindley & T. Moore Treasury Bot. II. 1168 Trichosanthes colubrina, the Serpent Cucumber or Viper Gourd, is so called from the remarkable snake-like appearance of its fruits, which are frequently six or more feet long, and at first striped with different shades of green.
b. Short for cucumber-tree n. at Compounds 2 (U.S.). Also attributive.
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the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > cultivated or ornamental trees and shrubs > [noun] > magnolias
sweet bay1716
umbrella-tree1739
swamp laurel1743
magnolia1748
tulip-tree1751
beaver-tree1756
tulip-laurel1766
champakc1770
cucumber-tree1784
mountain magnolia1785
swamp sassafras1796
laurel magnolia1806
beaver-wood1810
big laurel1810
yulan1822
chatta1834
cucumber1835
port wine magnolia1943
magnolioid1988
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > cultivated or ornamental trees and shrubs > [adjective]
jasmined1827
Ghent1841
cistal1847
cucumber1904
magnolia-like1913
magnolioid1972
1835 A. A. Parker Trip to West 47 The timber consists of the various kinds of oak,..cucumber, [etc.].
a1844 F. Baily Jrnl. Tour N. Amer. (1856) 178 Elm, oak, cucumber, and other trees.
1904 ‘O. Henry’ Cabbages & Kings x. 161 Johnny Atwood..prated feebly of cool water to be had in the cucumber-wood pumps of Dalesburg.
Compounds
C1. General attributive.
cucumber-bed n.
Π
1826 M. R. Mitford Our Village (1863) II. 387 He..made a very decent cucumber-bed in mine host's garden.
cucumber curve n.
Π
1807 Salmagundi 7 Mar. 98 His shins had the true cucumber curve.
cucumber-frame n.
Π
1782 W. Cowper Let. 31 Jan. (1981) II. 12 A man..whose chief occupation..is to walk ten times in a day from the fire-side to his Cucumber frame and back again.
1934 P. G. Wodehouse Right ho, Jeeves xx. 251 It sounded as if Carnera had jumped off the top of the Eiffel Tower on to a cucumber frame.
cucumber sandwich n.
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the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > bread > bread with spread or filling > [noun] > sandwich > other sandwiches
cheese sandwich1828
bacon sandwich1858
cucumber sandwich1896
club sandwich1903
western sandwich1908
Reuben sandwich1927
poor boy1931
po' boy1932
hero1938
hero sandwich1939
foot-long1941
steak sandwich1941
sub1948
sub sandwich1948
submarine1949
BLT1952
panini1955
tuna sandwich1957
hoagie1967
muffuletta1967
gyro1971
PBJ1971
stotty1971
Philadelphia cheesesteak1977
Philly cheesesteak1982
banh mi1985
1896 E. Turner Little Larrikin xv. 171 The fates chose that he should be allotted to find a cucumber sandwich for his hostess's sister-in-law.
1899 O. Wilde Importance of being Earnest i. 5 Why all these cups? Why cucumber sandwiches? Why such reckless extravagance in one so young?
1967 Listener 23 Mar. 398/1 The kind of smile and soft tone of voice you would connect with cucumber sandwiches and a vicarage lawn.
cucumber-seed n.
Π
1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 257 Three and thirty grains of Cowcumber-seed.
cucumber-slicer n.
Π
1884 Internat. Health Exhib. Official Catal. 110/2 Cucumber Slicers.
C2.
cucumber-beetle n. U.S. (see quots.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Coleoptera or beetles and weevils > [noun] > Polyphaga (omnivorous) > superfamily Phytophaga or Chrysomeloidea > family Chrysomelidae > cucumber beetle
cucumber-beetle1841
1841 T. W. Harris Rep. Insects Massachusetts 101 These striped cucumber-beetles..notorious..for their attacks upon the leaves of the cucumber and squash.
1865 Trans. Illinois State Agric. Soc. 1861–4 5 435 The various remedies adopted to check the ravages of the cucumber beetle, would be appropriate.
1948 Ada (Okla.) Evening News 2 July 4/4 A powerful insecticide that will kill such stubborn pests as Cucumber Beetles.
cucumber-bug n.
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the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Coleoptera or beetles and weevils > [noun] > Polyphaga (omnivorous) > superfamily Phytophaga or Chrysomeloidea > family Chrysomelidae > member of genus Galleruca (cucumber-bug)
cucumber-bug1838
1838 Mass. Zool. Surv. Rep. 100 The cucumber-bug..is called Galeruca vittata. At first sight it appears much like the potato-insect.
1865 Trans. Illinois State Agric. Soc. 1861–4 5 432 This insect..comes so near in its colors and markings to the Diabolica vittata, or ‘cucumber-bug’, that care must be taken to prevent mistake.
cucumber-cool adj. see cool (†cold) as a cucumber at sense 2b.
ΘΠ
the mind > emotion > calmness > self-possession or self-control > [adjective]
coolc1430
coldc1500
within oneself (itself, etc.)1518
cool-headed1684
present to oneself1692
possesseda1698
self-restrained1700
self-collecteda1711
cool (cold) as a cucumbera1732
self-possessing1732
self-regulating1755
cool-brained1765
self-possessed1766
self-restraining1777
self-disciplined?1791
self-controlling1796
self-repressed1814
self-controlled1822
self-contained1838
self-repressing1849
unimpulsive1856
posé1858
downbeat1953
cucumber-cool1955
supercool1965
1955 W. H. Auden Shield of Achilles iii. 75 In his New Jerusalem even chefs will be cucumber-cool machine minders.
cucumber flea beetle n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Coleoptera or beetles and weevils > [noun] > Polyphaga (omnivorous) > superfamily Phytophaga or Chrysomeloidea > family Chrysomelidae > cucumber flea beetle
cucumber flea beetle1877
1877 4th Rep. Vermont State Board Agric. 1876–7 154 The Cucumber Flea Beetle,..a little black beetle.., sometimes attacks the raspberry.
cucumber mosaic n. one of a group of virus diseases that attack cucumbers and related plants.
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the world > plants > disease or injury > [noun] > type of disease > viral diseases > associated with food or crop plants
yellow rust1808
leaf curl1850
peach yellows1880
tobacco mosaic virus1914
cucumber mosaic1916
reversion1918
plum pox1933
bushy stunt1936
swollen shoot1936
tobacco streak1936
sharka1961
1916 Phytopathology 6 145 The cucumber mosaic disease shows most markedly on the fruits, the first sign being a yellowish mottling near the stem end.
1916 Phytopathology 6 Pl. V (caption) Cucumber mosaic.
1923 W. F. Bewley Dis. Glasshouse Plants vii. 144 (heading) Symptoms of Cucumber Mosaic Disease.
1935 Jrnl. Min. Agric. 42 338 These three diseases [sc. green-mottle mosaic, yellow mosaic, yellow-mottle mosaic], collectively known as ‘cucumber mosaic’, are widespread.
1950 N.Z. Jrnl. Agric. Feb. 157/3 Cucumber mosaic..is a virus disease which may cause serious losses in cucumbers, marrows, pumpkins, and squashes. Symptoms consist of stunting of the plants and mosaic mottling of the foliage.
cucumber mullet n. the Australian grayling, Prototroctes maræna.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > fish > class Osteichthyes or Teleostomi > order Salmoniformes (salmon or trout) > family Salmonidae (salmon) > [noun] > prototroctes maraena
grayling1857
cucumber mullet1880
1880 W. Senior Trav. & Trout in Antipodes i. viii. 93 These must be the long-looked-for cucumber mullet, or fresh-water herring.
cucumber-root n. (a) the root of the cucumber; (b) the plant Medeola virginica (family Trilliaceæ), from the taste of its rhizomes.
Π
c1420 Pallad. on Husb. i. 981 Thi seedes with cocumber rootes grounde Lete stepe.
cucumber-shin n. (see quots. 1807 for cucumber curve n. at Compounds 1, 1849-52).
Π
1849–52 Todd's Cycl. Anat. & Physiol. IV. ii. 1332/1 That peculiar curved form of the bones of the leg [in Negroes] which gives rise to what is popularly designated as the ‘cucumber shin’.
cucumber-tree n. (a) Magnolia acuminata and other American species, the fruits of which resemble small cucumbers; (b) Averrhoa Bilimbi, an East Indian tree with an acid fruit resembling a small cucumber and used for pickling.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > cultivated or ornamental trees and shrubs > [noun] > magnolias
sweet bay1716
umbrella-tree1739
swamp laurel1743
magnolia1748
tulip-tree1751
beaver-tree1756
tulip-laurel1766
champakc1770
cucumber-tree1784
mountain magnolia1785
swamp sassafras1796
laurel magnolia1806
beaver-wood1810
big laurel1810
yulan1822
chatta1834
cucumber1835
port wine magnolia1943
magnolioid1988
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular medicinal plants or parts > medicinal trees or shrubs > [noun] > non-British medicinal trees or shrubs > other non-British medicinal trees or shrubs
snake-wood1598
velvet-leaf1707
macary bittera1726
majoa1726
ahuehuete1778
cucumber-tree1784
bilimbi1790
rohuna1829
chaulmoogra1832
juriballi1834
horse-cassia1864
yaw-weed1864
cundurango1871
Chile senna1874
cancer bush1888
quinine tree1905
kankerbos1913
hydnocarpus1928
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > particular fruit-tree or -plant > [noun] > tropical or exotic fruit-tree or -plant > of Asian or South Pacific > other Asian fruit-plants
tallow-tree1704
mangosteen1734
langsat1783
cucumber-tree1784
rambai1811
salak1820
wampee1830
tamarind plum1846
jackfruit1847
ivi1862
longan1866
Tahiti chestnut1884
mape1888
calamondin1890
1784 J. Filson Discov. Kentucke 23 The cucumber-tree is small and soft, with remarkable leaves, [and] bears a fruit much resembling that from which it is named.
1785 T. Jefferson Notes Virginia 65 Cucumber-tree. Magnolia acuminata.
1797 J. Morse Amer. Gazetteer s.v. Territory The more useful trees are..elm, cucumber tree, lynn tree.
1806 T. Jefferson Writings (1830) IV. 63 Can you send me some cones or seeds of the cucumber tree?
1832 D. J. Browne Sylva Americana 205 The cucumber tree sometimes exceeds 80 feet in height.
1834 Southern Lit. Messenger 1 98 The customary variety of oak, ash maple and hickory presents itself, mingled with the cucumber tree (Magnolia Acuminata).
1895 ‘C. E. Craddock’ Myst. Witch-Face Mt. iii. 56 Near at hand, a cucumbertree with its great, broad green leaves and its deep red cones..gave the only touch of color.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1893; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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