squash

squash · noun, verb, interjection¹

1. Latin · derived fromex
2. Vulgar Latin · derived from*excoāctiāre
3. Old French · derived fromesquacher
4. Middle English · inherited fromsquachen
5. English todaysquash

From Middle English squachen, squatchen, from Old French esquacher, escachier, from Vulgar Latin *excoāctiāre, from Latin ex + coāctāre. Probably influenced by Middle English quashen, quassen, from Old French esquasser, escasser (“to crush, shatter, destroy, break”), from Vulgar Latin *exquassare, from Latin ex- + quassare (“to shatter”) (see quash).

squash · noun²

1. Narragansett · borrowed fromaskutasquash“[a vegetable] eaten green (or raw)”
2. English todaysquash

Shortening of Narragansett askutasquash (“[a vegetable] eaten green (or raw)”), from askut (“green, raw”) + asquash (“eaten”).

squash · noun³

Clipping of musquash.

Words from the same roots