ackee

English

An open ackee (fruit)

Alternative forms

• achee, akee

Etymology

From Akan akye.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈækiː/, /əˈkiː/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iː (one pronunciation)

Noun

ackee (countable and uncountable, plural ackees)

1. A tropical evergreen tree, Blighia sapida, related to the lychee and longan.
   • 1883, Daniel Morris, chapter 7, in The Colony of British Honduras, Its Resources and Prospects‎^[1], London: Edward Stanford, page 113:

     The beautiful Akee (Blighia sapida), originally brought from the West Coast of Africa by slave ships, is now a common tree in the West Indies, and I noticed several fine specimens in Belize.

   • 2009, Staceyann Chin, “In My Father’s House”, in The Other Side of Paradise‎^[2], New York: Scribner, page 25:

     Delano and I are sprawled out under the ackee tree watching the black ants march from one rotten ackee pod to the next.

2. The fruit of the tree, of which only the arils are edible, the remainder being poisonous.

   Ackee and saltfish is a traditional Jamaican dish.

   • 2004, Andrea Levy, chapter 7, in Small Island‎^[3], London: Review, pages 104–105:

     The fleshy sacks that dangled down between his legs, like rotting ackees, wobbled.

Translations

tree

• Bambara: finsan
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 阿開木／阿开木 (ākāimù)

• Czech: poddužák lahodný
• Dagbani: kpihiga
• Fon: lisɛtin
• French: aki (fr) m, akée
• Fula: feso
• German: Akee f
• Japanese: アキー (akī)
• Mbelime: fùkidɔ́ńbù
• Moba: kpiig
• Moore: fĩ-zã
• Nawdm: feega
• Nupe: yìlàn̄ci
• Yoruba: igi iṣin

fruit

• Dagbani: kpihili
• German: Akee f
• Japanese: アキー (akī)
• Nawdm: febiir, feyaɦlu, felugr
• Nupe: yìlà
• Yoruba: iṣin

See also

• ackee and saltfish

Further reading

• ackee on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Blighia sapida on Wikispecies.Wikispecies

Anagrams

• Kacee

Jamaican Creole

Ackee

Alternative forms

• akee, aki

Etymology

Possibly from Akan aŋkye or Kuwaa a-kee.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈakɪ/
• Hyphenation: a‧ckee

Noun

ackee (plural ackee dem, quantified ackee)

1. An ackee.

   Nuttn nuh nice like ackee and saltfish an' fry dumplin' fi breakfast.

   There's nothing better than ackee and salted codfish with fried dumplings for breakfast.

Usage notes

Not to be confused with Bajan ackee (“Melicoccus bijugatus or its fruit; mamoncillo”).