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cucurbitologist
Feb. 16th, 2026 08:08 amTheme week! I have some fun polysyllabic ones near each other on my list, so I've grouped them together for some sesquipedalian fun.
cucurbitologist (kyoo-kur-bi-TOL-oh-jist) - n., someone who studies or cultivates Cucurbitaceae.
That is to say, members of the family that includes gourds, melons, squash, pumpkins, and cucumbers. Ye pumpkin farmer is a cucurbitologist. Coined from Latin cucurbita, gourd -- which is not a complete stretch, as cucurbit meaning gourd (and the gourd-shaped portion of an alembic) dates back to Middle English, from Anglo-Norman, from Old French.
The word came to my attention from someone describing Linus from Peanuts as a cryptocucurbitologist.
---L.
cucurbitologist (kyoo-kur-bi-TOL-oh-jist) - n., someone who studies or cultivates Cucurbitaceae.
That is to say, members of the family that includes gourds, melons, squash, pumpkins, and cucumbers. Ye pumpkin farmer is a cucurbitologist. Coined from Latin cucurbita, gourd -- which is not a complete stretch, as cucurbit meaning gourd (and the gourd-shaped portion of an alembic) dates back to Middle English, from Anglo-Norman, from Old French.
The word came to my attention from someone describing Linus from Peanuts as a cryptocucurbitologist.
---L.
