# cucumber

Pronunciation: US say "KYOO-kum-ber" /ˈkjuˌkʌmbɚ/; UK say "KYOO-kum-buh" /ˈkjuːˌkʌmbə/

## Noun

1. The edible green-skinned fruit of the vine Cucumis sativus, with crisp, pale, watery flesh.
   - Simple: A long green vegetable with smooth skin and cool, crisp white flesh inside.
   - _He added crisp cucumber to the sandwich for a fresh crunch._
   - _The chef peeled several cucumbers before dicing them for the cold soup._
2. A climbing or trailing vine of the gourd family, known scientifically as Cucumis sativus.
   - Simple: A climbing garden plant that grows long green vegetables on its trailing vines.
   - _A single cucumber can send out vines several feet long across the bed._
   - _Gardeners train cucumbers up netting to save space and keep the fruit off the ground._
3. A person who remains calm and self-possessed, unruffled in tense or stressful situations. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: A person who stays calm and relaxed, even when things get hard.
   - _The negotiator was a cucumber, calmly steering the room through every threat._
   - _While the rest of the staff panicked, she stayed the office cucumber, unflappable as ever._

## Origin

This word came through Middle English and Old French cocombre from Latin cucumis, cucumerem, possibly by way of an Old Occitan form. Before Latin its origin is probably from a Pre-Italic substrate language.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/cucumber (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).