'Cucumis' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'cucumis', where 'cucumis' meant 'cucumber'.

'Cucumis' was used in Classical Latin as 'cucumis' meaning 'cucumber' and was later adopted into modern botanical Latin as the genus name 'Cucumis' (formalized by Carl Linnaeus in the 18th century).

Initially, it meant 'cucumber' in everyday Latin; over time it evolved into a scientific name used to denote a genus containing cucumbers, melons, and related species.