gherkin
pronunciation
How to pronounce gherkin in British English:
UK [ˈgɜ:kɪn]
How to pronounce gherkin in American English:
US [ˈgɜrkɪn]
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- Noun:
- any of various small cucumbers pickled whole
- small prickly cucumber
Word Origin
- gherkin
- gherkin: [17] Etymologically, a gherkin may be a ‘little unripe one’. The word was borrowed from an assumed early Dutch *gurkkijn, a diminutive form of gurk, which probably came from Lithuanian agurkas. This in turn goes back via Polish ogurek to medieval Greek angoúrion, which has been linked with classical Greek ágouros ‘youth’.
- gherkin (n.)
- small cucumber used for pickling (either a small, prickly type of cucumber produced by a certain plant (Cucumis anguria), or a green or immature common cucumber), 1660s, from early modern Dutch gurken, augurken (late 16c.) "small pickled cucumber," from East Frisian augurk "cucumber," probably from a Balto-Slavic source (compare Polish ogórek "cucumber," Lithuanian agurkas, Russian oguretsŭ), possibly ultimately from Medieval Greek angourion "a kind of cucumber," which is 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.
Example
- 1. In addition the gherkin is mostly windows with 24 000 square meters of external glass a unique energy-efficient building approach .
- 2. In addition , the gherkin is mostly windows , with 24000 square meters of external glass , a unique , energy-efficient building approach .
- 3. London skyline : michael bosanko marks out the london eye , gherkin , tower bridge , nelson 's column and house of parliament using just torches and a long exposure
- 4. Background : this is the second tallest building in the city of london . Opened in 2004 , it is commonly referred to as the gherkin , after the cucumber-like fruit .
- 5. A spectacular landmark , such as london 's 30 st mary axe , the lord foster-designed building known as the " gherkin " , can literally put a business on the map and broadcast its owner 's ambitions to the world .