Emily Dickinson Lexicon

BIT'TER-GOURD, n. [bitter and gourd.]

A plant, a species of Cucumis, called Colocynthis, Colocynth, Coloquintada. The fruit is of the gourd kind, having a shell inclosing a bitter pulp, which is a very drastic purgative. It is brought from the Levant, and is the bitter apple of the shops. – Encyc.