Squash

(skwŏsh), v. t. [Eng. quash, q. v., or from O. Fr. escacher, esquachier, to squash, to crush.] To beat or press into pulp, or a flat mass; to crush.

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

Not old enough for a man, nor young enough for a boy, as a squash is, before ’tis a peascod. Shak.

2Sense 2. Hence, something unripe or soft. [In contempt.] “This squash, this gentleman.” Shak.

3Sense 3. A sudden fall of a heavy, soft body; a shock of soft bodies.

My fall was stopped by a terrible squash. Swift.

n. [Mass. 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.

[Cf. MUSQUASH.] (Zool.) An American animal allied to the weasel. Goldsmith.