كوسا

Arabic

كُوسَا

Alternative forms

• كُوسَى (kūsā), كُوسَة (kūsa)

Etymology

From an urbaners’ dialect, doublet of قُثَّاء (quṯṯāʔ, “Armenian cucumber”).

All plants of Cucurbita spec., zucchini included, are New World plants only introduced to the Old World after the discovery of the Americas; the Arabic term is applied from its similar appearance to its Old World relatives in the genus Cucumis.

Eilers derives from Persian کوسه (kuse, “man with little or no beard”), thus literally "hairless smooth fruit". Typologically compare Armenian սմբուկ (smbuk, “eggplant”, literally “smooth one?”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kuː.saː/

Noun

كُوسَا • (kūsā) f

1. zucchini, courgette

Declension

Declension of noun كُوسَا (kūsā)

Singular	singular invariable
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	كُوسَا kūsā	الْكُوسَا al-kūsā	كُوسَا kūsā
Nominative	كُوسَا kūsā	الْكُوسَا al-kūsā	كُوسَا kūsā
Accusative	كُوسَا kūsā	الْكُوسَا al-kūsā	كُوسَا kūsā
Genitive	كُوسَا kūsā	الْكُوسَا al-kūsā	كُوسَا kūsā

References

• Eilers, Wilhelm (1953) Der alte Name des persischen Neujahrsfestes (Abhandlungen der Geistes- und Sozialwissenschaftlichen Klasse; 1953.2)‎^[1] (in German), Mainz: Verl. der Akad. der Wiss. und der Literatur, page 10, footnote 1