pumpkin

Etymology

From Middle French pompon, from Latin pepō, from Ancient Greek πέπων (pépōn, “large melon”), from πέπων (pépōn, “ripe”), from πέπτω (péptō, “ripen”). Suffixed with the now obsolete -kin. Doublet of pepo. The alternative theory that it may be from the Wôpanâak word pôhpukun (“grows forth round”) is false.

noun

1. A domesticated plant, in species Cucurbita pepo, similar in growth pattern, foliage, flower, and fruit to the squash or melon.
2. The round yellow or orange fruit of this plant.
   There were pumpkins in Mombi’s corn-fields, lying golden red among the rows of green stalks; and these had been planted and carefully tended that the four-horned cow might eat of them in the winter time. 1904, L. Frank Baum, The Marvelous Land of Oz
3. (uncountable) The color of the fruit of the pumpkin plant.
   pumpkin:
4. (Australia) Any of a number of cultivars from the genus Cucurbita; known in the US as winter squash.
5. (US) A term of endearment for someone small and cute.
   You must be daddy’s little pumpkin. 1991, John Prine, Pat McLaughlin (lyrics and music), “Daddy’s Little Pumpkin”, in The Missing Years (album)