What does cushaw mean?
Cushaw is a regional North American name for a particular winter squash, usually identified as Cucurbita argyrosperma. The squash is recognized by its smooth, often pale or silvery skin and an elongated, bell-like shape, although its forms vary. Its dense, sweet flesh is commonly baked or made into pie, and the word carries traditional associations with New England and Mid-Atlantic cooking. In ordinary speech, the term normally means the vegetable rather than a separate dish: a cushaw pie is pie made from its flesh, while the plural cushaws is possible for multiple fruits. Cushaw should not be understood as simply another name for every squash; it is a more specific variety, although dictionaries sometimes define it only as a type of squash. The English word is an early nineteenth-century borrowing from an Eastern Algonquian language, often identified as Narragansett, and preserves an Indigenous name for this food. Its relationship to the word squash is recognized, although the precise etymological connection is not certain.
nounA type of winter squash, usually identified as Cucurbita argyrosperma, with smooth, often pale or silvery skin, an elongated or bell-like shape, and sweet flesh valued especially for pies. The name is chiefly regional within North America.
- A type of winter squash, generally identified as Cucurbita argyrosperma, with smooth skin and sweet flesh used especially in pies.
"She baked a cushaw and served it in a pie with brown sugar and cinnamon."
"We peeled the cushaw before adding it to the pie."
"Cushaw pie is a traditional dish in parts of New England and the Mid-Atlantic."
The plural cushaws is used for multiple fruits; cushaw is also used in recipe and culinary contexts without a plural.
"The farm stand sold pumpkins, butternut squash, and several cushaws."
Cushaw preserves an Indigenous Algonquian name for a squash that became a treasured ingredient in regional American pie.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of cushaw
Cushaw entered English in the early nineteenth century as a borrowing from an Eastern Algonquian language, often identified as Narragansett. The source language supplied the name of this particular squash, and the word is often linked with the Algonquian origin of squash, though the precise relationship remains uncertain. The borrowed name subsequently became associated especially with the squash and its culinary use in the northeastern United States.
Related word forms
How cushaw is actually used
Cushaw is primarily a regional North American term rather than a universally used name for this variety outside the United States. It usually names the vegetable itself, though cushaw pie refers specifically to a pie made from its flesh.
Easily confused with cushaw
Squash is the broad category of plants and fruits known as gourds, whereas cushaw specifically denotes a particular winter-squash variety, generally Cucurbita argyrosperma.