pomelo

Pronunciation: /ˈpɑməloʊ/

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun southeastern Asian tree producing large fruits resembling grapefruits
  2. noun large pear-shaped fruit similar to grapefruit but with coarse dry pulp

Etymology

Of uncertain etymology, though possibly a variant of earlier pampelmoes, from French, Dutch, Portuguese sources ultimately equivalent to "thick lemon" or transcribing the Tamil பம்ப ளிமாசு (pampa ḷimācu, “big citrus”). Alternatively, possibly from pome (“apple”) + melon or some cognate; though such a compound is currently unattested, some early variant spellings seem to show influence from pome.

In classic literature

Synonyms

pomelo tree, pummelo, shaddock, Citrus maxima, Citrus grandis, Citrus decumana

Semantic network

Broader (hypernyms)
citrus

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