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Synonyms for gherkin


Grammar : Noun
Spell : gur-kin
Phonetic Transcription : ˈgɜr kɪn



Définition of gherkin

Origin :
  • small cucumber used for pickling, 1660s, from early modern Dutch gurken, augurken (late 16c.) "small pickled cucumber," from East Frisian augurk "cucumber," probably from a Balto-Slavic source (cf. Polish ogórek "cucumber"), possibly ultimately from Medieval Greek angourion "a kind of cucumber," said to be from Persian angarah [Klein, etc.], but OED seems to regard this as unlikely. A Dutch source says the Greek is from a word for "immature" and that the vegetable originated in northern India and came to Eastern Europe via the Byzantine Empire.
  • The Dutch suffix is perhaps the diminutive -kin, though some regard it as a plural affix, with the Dutch word mistaken for a singular in English. The -h- was added 1800s to preserve the hard "g" pronunciation.
  • As in dill pickle : noun dill-flavored pickled cucumber
Example sentences :
  • He says no one has ever seen a Gherkin blub; if they have to, they go and do it somewhere else.
  • Extract from : « Punch or the London Charivari, Vol. 147, December 2, 1914 » by Various
  • You had to move your ears and say "Gherkin," then you were admitted to the trench.
  • Extract from : « Punch or the London Charivari, Vol. 147, December 2, 1914 » by Various
  • What the devil's the use of "h" in gherkin, I'd like to know.
  • Extract from : « Mark Twain's Speeches » by Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
  • A gherkin is always eaten with this, the chief food of India.
  • Extract from : « Seven Legs Across the Seas » by Samuel Murray
  • Anchovy and gherkin, cut into small diamonds, may be placed between.
  • Extract from : « Dressed Game and Poultry la Mode » by Harriet A. de Salis
  • Some thin slices of gherkin may be added to the meat, and the same plan can be adopted with pickled fish, brawn or sausages.
  • Extract from : « The Modern Housewife or, Menagere » by Alexis Soyer
  • King of the Ridge has smooth fruits a foot or more long; gherkin, a short, prickly form, is much used for pickling.
  • Extract from : « Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 8 » by Various
  • The gherkin a few inches above it defied the eye to detect the swelling and lengthening that were taking place as a man looked on.
  • Extract from : « The Side Of The Angels » by Basil King
  • He has also found a new rose of a beautiful description, having thorns on its branches, and a seed-vessel resembling a gherkin.
  • Extract from : « Explorations in Australia, The Journals of John McDouall Stuart » by John McDouall Stuart
  • Bakkus took her hand which held a fork on which was prodded a gherkin--they were at lunch--and raised it to his lips.
  • Extract from : « The Mountebank » by William J. Locke

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Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019