What is "squash"

Squash \Squash\ (skw[o^]sh), n. [Cf. Musquash.] (Zo["o]l.) An American animal allied to the weasel. [Obs.]
--Goldsmith.

Squash \Squash\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Squashed (skw[o^]sht); p. pr. & vb. n. Squashing.] [OE. squachen, OF. escachier, esquachier, to squash, to crush, F. ['e]cacher, perhaps from (assumed) LL. excoacticare, fr. L. ex + coactare to constrain, from cogere, coactum, to compel. Cf. Cogent, Squat, v. i.] To beat or press into pulp or a flat mass; to crush.

Squash \Squash\, n.

1. Something soft and easily crushed; especially, an unripe pod of pease.

   Not yet old enough for a man, nor young enough for a boy; as a squash is before 't is a peascod.
   --Shak.

2. Hence, something unripe or soft; -- used in contempt. ``This squash, this gentleman.''
   --Shak.

3. A sudden fall of a heavy, soft body; also, a shock of soft bodies.
   --Arbuthnot.

   My fall was stopped by a terrible squash.
   --Swift.

4. A game much like rackets, played in a walled court with soft rubber balls and bats like tennis rackets; -- called also squash rackets.

Squash \Squash\, n. [Massachusetts Indian asq, pl. asquash, raw, green, immature, applied to fruit and vegetables which were used when green, or without cooking; askutasquash vine apple.] (Bot.) A plant and its fruit of the genus Cucurbita, or gourd kind.

Note: The species are much confused. The long-neck squash is called Cucurbita verrucosa, the Barbary or China squash, C. moschata, and the great winter squash, C. maxima, but the distinctions are not clear.

Squash beetle (Zo["o]l.), a small American beetle ( Diabrotica vittata, syn. Galeruca vittata) which is often abundant and very injurious to the leaves of squash, cucumber, etc. It is striped with yellow and black. The name is applied also to other allied species.

Squash bug (Zo["o]l.), a large black American hemipterous insect ( Coreus tristis syn. Anasa tristis) injurious to squash vines.

"to crush, squeeze," early 14c., squachen, from Old French esquasser, escasser "to crush, shatter, destroy, break," from Vulgar Latin *exquassare, from Latin ex- "out" (see ex-) + quassare "to shatter" (see quash "to crush"). Related: Squashed; squashing.

gourd fruit, 1640s, shortened borrowing from Narraganset (Algonquian) askutasquash, literally "the things that may be eaten raw," from askut "green, raw, uncooked" + asquash "eaten," in which the -ash is a plural affix (compare succotash).

1610s, "act of squashing," from squash (v.). The racket game called by that name 1899; earlier (1886) it was the name of the soft rubber ball used in it.

Etymology 1 n. (context uncountable English) A sport played in a walled court with a soft rubber ball and bats like tennis racquets. vb. 1 (context transitive English) To beat or press into pulp or a flat mass; to crush. 2 (context transitive intransitive English) To compress or restrict (oneself) into a small space; to squeeze. Etymology 2

n. 1 (context countable English) A plant and its fruit of five species of the genus ''Cucurbita'', or gourd kind. 2 # ''Cucurbita maxima'', including (vern hubbard squash pedia=1), (vern great winter squash pedia=1), (vern buttercup squash pedia=1), and some varieties of pumpkins. 3 # (taxlink Cucurbita mixta species noshow=1), (vern cushaw squash pedia=1). 4 # ''Cucurbita moschata'', butternut squash, (vern Barbary squash pedia=1), (vern China squash pedia=1). 5 # ''Cucurbita pepo'', most pumpkins, acorn squash, summer squash, zucchini. 6 # (taxlink Cucurbita verrucosa species noshow=1), (vern long-neck squash pedia=1) 7 The edible or decorative fruit of these plants, or this fruit prepared as a dish. Etymology 3

n. (context obsolete zoo countable English) muskrat.

1. n. any of numerous annual tendril-bearing trailing plants of the genus Cucurbita grown for their fleshy edible fruits [syn: squash vine]

2. edible fruit of a squash plant; eaten as a vegetable

3. a game played in an enclosed court by two or four players who strike the ball with long-handled rackets [syn: squash racquets, squash rackets]

4. [also: squashes (pl)]

1. v. to compress with violence, out of natural shape or condition; "crush an aluminum can"; "squeeze a lemon" [syn: crush, squelch, mash, squeeze]

2. [also: squashes (pl)]

Squash may refer to:

Squash is a racket sport played by two (singles) or four players (doubles) in a four-walled court with a small, hollow rubber ball. The players must alternate in striking the ball with their racket and hit the ball onto the playable surfaces of the four walls of the court.

The game was formerly called squash rackets, a reference to the "squashable" soft ball used in the game (compared with the harder ball used in its sister game rackets).

Squash supporters are lobbying for its incorporation in a future Olympic program.

Squash (also called cordial or dilute) is a non-alcoholic concentrated syrup used in beverage making. It is usually fruit-flavoured, made from fruit juice, water, and sugar or a sugar substitute. Modern squashes may also contain food colouring and additional flavouring. Some traditional squashes contain herbal extracts, most notably elderflower and ginger.

Squash is a 2002 French short film (27 min / 29 min runtime) directed and written by Lionel Bailliu. The film has won multiple awards at film festivals and was nominated for an Academy Award in the Live Action Short Film category in 2004. The film stars Malcolme Conrath as Alexandre and Eric Savin as Charles.