An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Kürbis

by Friedrich Kluge

Kürbis, masculine, ‘gourd, pumpkin,’ from the equivalent Middle High German kürbeȥ, kürbiȥ, Old High German churbiȥ, masculine (rarely feminine); borrowed previous to the High German permutation (of t to ȥȥ) from Latin cucúrbita, whence also Anglo-Saxon cyrfet. Whether the reduplicated form of the Latin word was influenced by Teutonic itself cannot be determined. From Latin cucurbita are also derived Italian cucuzza, French gourde, whence English gourd, Dutch kauwoerde.