Ordinary cucumber , or Cucumber sowing ( Latin Cucumis sativus ), is an annual herbaceous plant, a species of the genus Cucumber ( Cucumis ) of the Pumpkin family ( Cucurbitaceae ), a vegetable crop .
Origin of the name
According to Vasmer 's etymological dictionary , the name is borrowed from the Middle Greek. ἄγουρος ("cucumber"), which goes back to ἄωρος ("unripe"). This vegetable, eaten unripe, is deliberately opposed to the melon - πέπων , which is eaten ripe .
The word "cucumber" in Sanskrit is consonant with the name of an Indian prince , who, according to legend, had 60,000 children, which is probably due to the numerous seeds in the cucumber and the abundance of fruits .
The Slavs , who communicated with Byzantium , were among the first to grow cucumbers; already from them the cucumber came to the Germans .[ source not specified 234 days ] The German word Gurke "cucumber" comes from the Polish. ogurek .