bitter gourd

Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)

Gourd \Gourd\, n. [F. gourde, OF. cougourde, gouhourde, fr. L. cucurbita gourd (cf. NPr. cougourdo); perh. akin to corbin basket, E. corb. Cf. Cucurbite.]

1.(Bot.) A fleshy, three-celled, many-seeded fruit, as the melon, pumpkin, cucumber, etc., of the order Cucurbitace[ae]; and especially the bottle gourd (Lagenaria vulgaris) which occurs in a great variety of forms, and, when the interior part is removed, serves for bottles, dippers, cups, and other dishes. [1913 Webster]

2.A dipper or other vessel made from the shell of a gourd; hence, a drinking vessel; a bottle. --Chaucer. [1913 Webster]

Bitter gourd, colocynth. [1913 Webster]

Bitter \Bit"ter\, a. [AS. biter; akin to Goth. baitrs, Icel. bitr, Dan., Sw., D., & G. bitter, OS. bittar, fr. root of E. bite. See Bite, v. t.]

1.Having a peculiar, acrid, biting taste, like that of wormwood or an infusion of hops; as, a bitter medicine; bitter as aloes. [1913 Webster]

2.Causing pain or smart; piercing; painful; sharp; severe; as, a bitter cold day. [1913 Webster]

3.Causing, or fitted to cause, pain or distress to the mind; calamitous; poignant. [1913 Webster]

It is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God.— Jer. ii. 19.[1913 Webster]

4.Characterized by sharpness, severity, or cruelty; harsh; stern; virulent; as, bitter reproach. [1913 Webster]

Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them.— Col. iii. 19.[1913 Webster]

5.Mournful; sad; distressing; painful; pitiable. [1913 Webster]

The Egyptians . . . made their lives bitter with hard bondage.— Ex. i. 14.[1913 Webster]

Bitter apple, Bitter cucumber, Bitter gourd. (Bot.) See Colocynth.

Bitter cress (Bot.), a plant of the genus Cardamine, esp. Cardamine amara.

Bitter earth (Min.), tale earth; calcined magnesia.

Bitter principles (Chem.), a class of substances, extracted from vegetable products, having strong bitter taste but with no sharply defined chemical characteristics.

Bitter salt, Epsom salts; magnesium sulphate.

Bitter vetch (Bot.), a name given to two European leguminous herbs, Vicia Orobus and Ervum Ervilia.

To the bitter end, to the last extremity, however calamitous. [1913 Webster]

Syn: Acrid; sharp; harsh; pungent; stinging; cutting; severe; acrimonious. [1913 Webster]

Colocynth \Col"ocynth\, n. [L. colocynthis, Gr. ?. Cf. Coloquintida.] (Med.) The light spongy pulp of the fruit of the bitter cucumber (Citrullus colocynthis, or Cucumis colocynthis), an Asiatic plant allied to the watermelon; coloquintida. It comes in white balls, is intensely bitter, and a powerful cathartic. Called also bitter apple, bitter cucumber, bitter gourd. [1913 Webster]