pumpkin

pumpkin, common name for the genus Cucurbita of the family Cucurbitaceae (gourd family), a group that includes the pumpkins and squashes—the names may be used interchangeably and without botanical distinction. C. pepo, a species that includes varieties of pumpkin, vegetable marrow (a common European vegetable), and summer squash, has been cultivated so long that its wild form no longer exists and its place of origin is uncertain. If it is native to Asia it was introduced to America in prehistoric times; squashes, corn, and lima beans were the chief crops cultivated by pre-Columbian Native Americans. The pumpkin was among the fruits of the first Thanksgiving celebration of the Pilgrims; it has been a favorite pie filling for autumn festivities ever since, and its shell is carved into the Halloween jack-o'-lantern. The summer squashes include the pattypan, acorn, scallop, and summer crookneck squashes. Other squashes are varieties of C. moschata, including the crookneck squashes and the cheese pumpkin, and C. maxima, the winter squashes (e.g., the Hubbard and turban squashes), called pumpkins in Europe. Pumpkins are classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Violales, family Cucurbitaceae.

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pumpkin

Fruit of certain varieties of Cucurbita pepo or C. moschata, of the gourd family. In the U.S., the thick-growing, small-fruited bush, or nontrailing, varieties of C. pepo are called squash, and the long-season, long-trailing, large-fruited varieties are called pumpkin. Pumpkins produce very long vines and large (9–18 lb [4–8 kg]), globe-shaped, orange fruits. Giant and miniature varieties are available. The usually lightly furrowed or ribbed rind is smooth, and the fruit stem is hard and woody. Pumpkins mature in early autumn and can be stored for a few months in a dry, warm place. They are commonly grown in North America, Britain, and Europe for human food and livestock feed. In Europe pumpkin is served mainly as a vegetable; in the U.S. and Canada pumpkin pie is a traditional Thanksgiving and Christmas dessert. Pumpkins are used in the U.S. for Halloween decorations.

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pumpkin

any of several creeping cucurbitaceous plants of the genus Cucurbita, esp C. pepo of North America and C. maxima of Europe

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pumpkin [′pəm·kən]

(botany)

Any of several prickly vines with large lobed leaves and yellow flowers in the genus Cucurbita of the order Violales; the fruit is orange-colored and large, with a firm rind.

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pumpkin

turned into coach by Cinderella’s fairy godmother. [Fr. Fairy Tale: Cinderella]

See : Transformation

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(jargon)

pumpkin - A humourous term for the token - the object (notional or real) that gives its possessor (the "pumpking" or the "pumpkineer") exclusive access to something, e.g. applying patches to a master copy of source (for which the pumpkin is called a "patch pumpkin"). Chip Salzenberg <chip@perl.com> wrote: David Croy once told me once that at a previous job, there was one tape drive and multiple systems that used it for backups. But instead of some high-tech exclusion software, they used a low-tech method to prevent multiple simultaneous backups: a stuffed pumpkin. No one was allowed to make backups unless they had the "backup pumpkin".