cushaw
cushaw Lexical Profile
• noun
American A large, crooknecked variety of winter squash (Cucurbita argyrosperma) native to southern North America and Mesoamerica, typically featuring mottled green and white striped skin and light yellow to orange flesh.
"For Thanksgiving, she baked a traditional Appalachian pie using roasted cushaw instead of pumpkin."
North American The sprawling, trailing vine of the gourd family that produces the cushaw squash.
"Because it is highly resistant to the squash vine borer, the farmer preferred planting cushaw over other winter squashes."
• Rhymes for cushaw
Word Origin & Etymology
Derived from an Algonquian language, likely Powhatan 'ecushaw' or a similar term, referring to a type of gourd or squash encountered by early English colonists in North America.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.