gherkin

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈɡɜːkɪn/ (UK); /ˈɡɝkɪn/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Dutch gurken, the plural of gurk “cucumber”,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} short for augurk, agurk,^[2][3][4] probably from a Slavic source such as Polish ogórek (“cucumber”),^[2][3][4][6] perhaps ultimately from Medieval Greek angoúrion.^[2][3][4][5] The h was added in the 19th century to keep the hard g.^[3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

A young green cucumber or small kind of cucumber used for pickling (1661 as girkin).^[3][5][7]

Semantic evolution

Etymonline notes that the Dutch ending may be the diminutive -kin or a plural ending mistaken for a singular in English.^[4][3] The word also names the West Indian gherkin (Cucumis anguria), a vine with small prickly fruits used for pickling.^[2][5][6]

Timeline

• 1661 – girkin.^[3][5][7]
• 19th century – spelling with gh-.^[3][4]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A small cucumber, especially one used for pickling; also a small pickle.
2. A West Indian vine (Cucumis anguria) with small prickly fruits used for pickling, or its fruit.

Word family

• West Indian gherkin

Related words

• cucumber
• pickle

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press