Etymology

sea cucumber

Today it means: An echinoderm of the class Holothuroidea, with an elongated body and leathery skin. Full definition →

French concombre de mer
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The story

  1. French · calque ofconcombre de mer
  2. English todaysea cucumber

From sea + cucumber, named in reference to its appearance. The term first appeared in common use in the 19th century, and is a calque of French concombre de mer according to the Oxford English Dictionary.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.