calabash
noun
cal·a·bash ˈka-lə-ˌbash 
1
: a tropical American tree (Crescentia cujete) of the bignonia family
also : its large hard-shelled globose fruit
2
: gourd
especially : one whose hard shell is used for a utensil
3
: a utensil (such as a bottle or dipper) made from the shell of a calabash
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web The label features the calabash, a traditional clay drinking vessel. 
Melanie Van Zyl, Travel + Leisure, 5 Mar. 2022 My father’s favorite sound was the sound of the kora, a harp-like instrument with twenty-one strings held taut between a wooden neck and a calabash body. Kelefa Sanneh, The New Yorker, 6 Sep. 2021 For instance, because traditional beer remains very much a rural cottage industry, these brewers tend to rely on hand tools, open flames, wooden vessels and calabash shells or clay jugs as communal cups to serve their customers. Tara Nurin, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2021 The spice mixture includes calabash nutmeg, negro pepper (also called uda seeds), and alligator pepper seeds. Saveur, 8 May 2017 There are South African Nguni cattle skins, handmade Zulu ceramics, string art, baskets and beadwork, and lights made of reed and wood fishing baskets or calabash gourds, used by local farmers to collect water. Pamela Wright, BostonGlobe.com, 9 July 2019 The versions made by Igbo and Yoruba cooks may contain fewer ingredients, but will feature delicately sweet calabash nutmeg and smoky selim peppers in the mixture. New York Times, 26 June 2019 The new album features more textures and flavors, including African, Middle Eastern and Indian influences, more keyboards and a wider array of instrument such as calabash, gourd banjo, four-mallet marimba, bowed vibraphone and more. Gary Graff, Billboard, 11 June 2019 The girls wade into the river with sponges and calabashes for a communal bath, and sit on a sacred stone that affirms their virginity. Danielle Jackson, Longreads, 12 Feb. 2017 See More
Melanie Van Zyl, Travel + Leisure, 5 Mar. 2022 My father’s favorite sound was the sound of the kora, a harp-like instrument with twenty-one strings held taut between a wooden neck and a calabash body. Kelefa Sanneh, The New Yorker, 6 Sep. 2021 For instance, because traditional beer remains very much a rural cottage industry, these brewers tend to rely on hand tools, open flames, wooden vessels and calabash shells or clay jugs as communal cups to serve their customers. Tara Nurin, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2021 The spice mixture includes calabash nutmeg, negro pepper (also called uda seeds), and alligator pepper seeds. Saveur, 8 May 2017 There are South African Nguni cattle skins, handmade Zulu ceramics, string art, baskets and beadwork, and lights made of reed and wood fishing baskets or calabash gourds, used by local farmers to collect water. Pamela Wright, BostonGlobe.com, 9 July 2019 The versions made by Igbo and Yoruba cooks may contain fewer ingredients, but will feature delicately sweet calabash nutmeg and smoky selim peppers in the mixture. New York Times, 26 June 2019 The new album features more textures and flavors, including African, Middle Eastern and Indian influences, more keyboards and a wider array of instrument such as calabash, gourd banjo, four-mallet marimba, bowed vibraphone and more. Gary Graff, Billboard, 11 June 2019 The girls wade into the river with sponges and calabashes for a communal bath, and sit on a sacred stone that affirms their virginity. Danielle Jackson, Longreads, 12 Feb. 2017 See More Word History
Etymology
French & Spanish; French calebasse gourd, from Spanish calabaza
First Known Use
1596, in the meaning defined at sense 1