Squash
/skwɒʃ/noun
To crush or flatten, or a soft edible gourd of the genus Cucurbita.
Did you know?The verb comes from an Old French word for breaking or shattering, and the same ancient root also gave English words like "crash" and "quash"—all carrying the energy of forceful destruction.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*sker-
“to cut, split, or break”
Latin
Latin
exquassare
“to shake out violently, shatter”
Old French
Old French
esquasser
“to crush, shatter”
Middle English
English
squaschen
“to crush or press down”
Modern English
English
squash
“to crush or flatten; a soft edible gourd”