A small green cucumber, typically pickled and served as a condiment or snack, often preserved in vinegar.
From Dutch augurk, from Greek agguros, possibly influenced by Polish ogórek (ogórek). The word traveled through European trade routes in the 16th-17th centuries.
Gherkins show the spice trade's massive influence on English—this word bounced through Dutch, Polish, and Greek before settling as the food we eat, mapping medieval European trade routes.
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