noun
calabash
KAL-uh-bash/ˈkæləbæʃ/
A tropical gourd with a hard shell that can be hollowed into a vessel.
The hollowed calabash holds water beside its cut-off top.
Etymology
Calabaza means “gourd”: the container takes its name from the fruit dried and hollowed to make it. The Spanish word’s deeper ancestry is uncertain.
In context
It comes in a little gourd, or often a calabash. This is in a gourd. It is blackish brittle stuff encrusting the sides of the gourd
More examples
- The vine produced several hard-shelled calabashes.
- He served water in a polished calabash.
- The antique calabash pipe had a deeply curved bowl.
Forms
calabash · calabashes
Similar words
- gourd
- The broader plant and fruit category, without necessarily implying a usable vessel.