Wiktionary

cucumiform

English

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WOTD – 2 May 2012

Alternative forms

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Etymology

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First attested in a glossary in 1826, in a fragment in 1838, and in a grammatical sentence in 1892; formed by the suffixation of cucumi-, the short i-stem of the Latin cucumis (“cucumber”), with the English -form; compare the earlier New Latin cucumeriformis (1703), cucumiformis (1791) and French cucumeriforme (1777), cucumiforme (1804).

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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cucumiform (comparative more cucumiform, superlative most cucumiform)

  1. Shaped like a cucumber; having the form of a cylinder tapered and rounded at the ends, and possibly curved.
    • 1826, William Kirby, William Spence, An Introduction to Entomology‎[1], volume IV, page 265:
      Cucumiform (Cucumiformis). Cucumber-shaped. Whose longitudinal section is oblong, and transverse circular.
    • 1955, William Gaddis, The Recognitions, Harcourt, Brace, page 329:
      She was there, tumbling the marvelous cucumiform weights down upon a chest which looked as though it would cave in under such manna.
    • 2011, Terry Pratchett,, Snuff: Discworld Novel 39‎[2], page 17:
      Uncharacteristically for him, Lord Vetinari laughed out loud. He very nearly gloated at the downfall of his enemy and slammed his copy of the Ankh-Morpork Times, open at the crossword page, on to his desk. ‘Cucumiform, shaped like a cucumber or a variety of squash! l thumb my nose at you, madam!’
    • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:cucumiform.
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Translations

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References

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