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First attested in the Yeogeo yuhaebo (譯語類解補 / 역어유해보), 1775, as Early Modern Korean호박 (Yale: hwopak), probably from 호(胡)(ho-, “barbarian”) + 박(bak, “gourd”) because it was introduced from Qing China, which was considered barbaric by the Koreans (Jang 2008, p. 264). The long vowel is irregular, however. Other words with the prefix, e.g. 호(胡)주머니(hojumeoni, “pocket”) and 호(胡)떡(hotteok, “pancake”), have an initial short vowel.
