calabash

calabash
/kal"euh bash'/, n.
1. any of various gourds, esp. the bottle gourd, Lagenaria siceraria.
2. a tropical American tree, Crescentia cujete, of the bignonia family, bearing large, gourdlike fruit.
3. any of several other plants having gourdlike fruit.
4. the fruit of any of these plants.
5. the dried, hollowed-out shell of any of these fruits, used as a container or utensil.
6. a bottle, kettle, ladle, etc., made from such a shell.
7. a tobacco pipe with a large bowl made from a calabash and usually having a curved stem.
8. a gourd used as a rattle, drum, etc.
[1590-1600; < MF calabasse < Sp calabaza < Catalan carabaça, perh. < Ar qar'ah yabisah gourd (that is) dry]

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Tree (Crescentia cujete) of the trumpet-creeper family (Bignoniaceae) that grows in Central and South America, the West Indies, and extreme southern Florida.

It is often grown as an ornamental. It produces large spherical fruits, the hard shells of which are useful as bowls, cups, and other water containers when hollowed out. The fruit's shell encloses a whitish pulp and thin, dark brown seeds. The tree bears funnel-shaped, light green and purple-streaked flowers and evergreen leaves. Fruits of the unrelated bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) are also known as calabashes.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Calabash — Cal a*bash (k[a^]l [.a]*b[a^]sh), n. [Sp. calabaza, or Pg. calaba[,c]a, caba[,c]a (cf. F. Calebasse), lit., a dry gourd, fr. Ar. qar , fem., a kind of gourd + aibas dry.] 1. The common gourd (plant or fruit). [1913 Webster] 2. The fruit of the… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Calabash — Calabash, NC U.S. town in North Carolina Population (2000): 711 Housing Units (2000): 508 Land area (2000): 1.417715 sq. miles (3.671864 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.096456 sq. miles (0.249820 sq. km) Total area (2000): 1.514171 sq. miles… …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

  • Calabash, NC — U.S. town in North Carolina Population (2000): 711 Housing Units (2000): 508 Land area (2000): 1.417715 sq. miles (3.671864 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.096456 sq. miles (0.249820 sq. km) Total area (2000): 1.514171 sq. miles (3.921684 sq. km)… …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

  • calabash — [kal′ə bash΄] n. [Fr calebasse < Sp calabaza; prob. < Ar qárʼ a yābisa, dry gourd] 1. a tropical American tree (Crescentia cujete) of the bignonia family, or its large, gourdlike fruit 2. a) an Old World tropical vine (Lagenaria siceraria)… …   English World dictionary

  • calabash — 1590s, dried, hollowed gourd used as a drinking cup, from Sp. calabaza, possibly from Arabic qar a yabisa dry gourd, from Pers. kharabuz, used of various large melons; or from a pre Roman Iberian *calapaccia …   Etymology dictionary

  • calabash — ► NOUN ▪ a water container, tobacco pipe, or other object made from the dried shell of a gourd. ORIGIN Spanish calabaza, perhaps from a Persian word meaning melon …   English terms dictionary

  • Calabash — This article is about the vine. For the tree, see Crescentia and Crescentia cujete. For other uses, see Calabash (disambiguation). Not to be confused with calabaza. Calabash Lagenaria siceraria Green calabash on the vin …   Wikipedia

  • calabash —    Umeke, ipu, pā ipu, hōkeo, hue, hulilau, ōpū hue, ipu pāwehe.   Also: mā au au, palapa a, kākū, māhanakanaloa. See sayings, umeke.    ♦ Netted calabash carrier, kōkō a aha.    ♦ Strings by which a netted calabash is hung, kākai.    ♦ To tie up …   English-Hawaiian dictionary

  • calabash — UK [ˈkæləbæʃ] / US [ˈkæləˌbæʃ] noun [countable/uncountable] Word forms calabash : singular calabash plural calabashes a large tropical fruit whose thick hard skin is dried and used as a container or drum …   English dictionary

  • calabash — /ˈkæləbæʃ / (say kaluhbash) noun 1. any of various gourds, especially the fruit of the plant known as the bottle gourd, Lagenaria siceraria. 2. any of the plants bearing them. 3. a. the fruit of a bignoniaceous tree, Crescentia cujete, of… …  

  • calabash — puodyninė krescencija statusas T sritis vardynas apibrėžtis Bignonijinių šeimos dekoratyvinis, maistinis, vaisinis, vaistinis augalas (Crescentia cujete), paplitęs Centrinėje ir Pietų Amerikoje. Naudojamas puošybai. atitikmenys: lot. Crescentia… …   Lithuanian dictionary (lietuvių žodynas)

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