Monday, 23 February 2026

French 'cocombre' in the English language

'Cucumber' is a word borrowed from French 'cocombre'. The word entered the English language some time around the 14th century.


cucumber [noun] [14th century]
  • the fruit of a vine (Cucumis sativus) of the gourd family cultivated as a garden vegetable
  • this vine
See 'cucumber' on the Loan Words Map

See more loan words from French.

note: Cucumber derives from the Middle English cucumer (14th century) originating from the Old French cocombre and the Latin cucumis (or cucumerem) possibly rooted in a pre-Italic Mediterranean language. It replaced the Old English term eorþæppla (earth-apples) and was influenced by a 17th-century shift toward the Latinate spelling.
Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French 'cucumbre' from Latin 'cucumer-, cucumis'
See more loan words from 1300s.


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