Pumpkin Meaning
/ˈpʌmpkɪn/Definition, CEFR level A2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA domesticated plant, in species Cucurbita pepo, similar in growth pattern, foliage, flower, and fruit to the squash or melon.
nounThe round yellow or orange fruit of this plant.
Sentence Examples
What a big pumpkin!
The little bumpkin bought a big pumpkin.
Tom doesn't know if Mary likes pumpkin pie or not.
CEFR Practice Quiz
On Halloween, we hollowed out a big orange ____ to make a lantern.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She carved a ____ into a jack-o-lantern and placed it on the doorstep for Halloween.
Word Origin & History
Alteration of pompion, pumpion (“pumpkin”) with the diminutive -kin, from Middle French pompon, from Latin pepō (whence English pepo), from Ancient Greek πέπων (pépōn, “large melon”), from πέπων (pépōn, “ripe”), from πέπτω (péptō, “ripen”). The first attestation is from 1647. The alternative theory that it may be from Massachusett pôhpukun (“grows forth round”) is false. The automotive sense is by fancied resemblance.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Nevertheless, the comprehensive comparative analysis of pumpkin viromes across various geographic regions by NGS remains deficient."
— 2023 August 26, Batchimeg Togoobat, Nan Wu, Xifeng Wang, Mengji Cao, Zhongtian Xu, “Viromic approach reveals differences in the composition, diversity and relative abundance of pumpkin viruses across main growing regions of China”, in Virology, volume 585, →DOI, pages 61-71:
"There were pumpkins in Mombi’s corn-fields, lying golden red among the rows of green stalks; and these had been planted and carefully tended that the four-horned cow might eat of them in the winter time."
— 1904, L. Frank Baum, The Marvelous Land of Oz:
"You must be daddy’s little pumpkin."
— 1991, John Prine, Pat McLaughlin, “Daddy’s Little Pumpkin”, in The Missing Years (album):
Explore More A2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
On Halloween, we hollowed out a big orange ____ to make a lantern.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She carved a ____ into a jack-o-lantern and placed it on the doorstep for Halloween.