zucca

pumpkin, squash

noun TSOOK-kah Rare

Origin: From Late Latin cucutia, variant of cucurbita (gourd).

Also means

head, blockhead (informal)

Usage Note

Zucca is the orange Halloween-type pumpkin as well as any large winter squash. Colloquially it means 'head' — usa la zucca! ('use your head!'). It can also imply stupidity: sei una zucca vuota ('you're an empty pumpkin/blockhead'). The plural le zucche is regular. The smaller courgette is zucchina (or zucchino in some regions).

Examples

"Ha comprato una zucca enorme al mercato."

Natural Translation

She bought an enormous pumpkin at the market.

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