Gherkin
/ˈɡɜːr.kɪn/noun
A small cucumber, especially one used for pickling.
Did you know?The word is ultimately tied to the cucumber family’s long European journey, and its odd spelling helped preserve the old hard-g sound that many English words later lost.
Etymological Timeline
Late Middle English
English
gerkin / gherkin
“A small cucumber, especially one for pickling.”
16th Century
Dutch
augurkje / gurkijn
“A small cucumber or pickle cucumber.”
16th Century
French
cornichon
“A small cucumber; pickle cucumber.”
Medieval Latin
Latin
cucumer
“Cucumber.”
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*keuk-
“To bend, turn; the root behind the cucumber family’s ancient name is uncertain, but the plant-name tradition is very old.”