fruit
Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary
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[edit] English
[edit] Etymology
(1125–75) Middle English fruit, fruits and vegetables, from Old French fruit, from Latin fructus, enjoyment, proceeds, profits, produce, income, a derivative of Latin frui, to have the benefit of, to use, to enjoy, from Proto-Indo-European *bhrug- (“‘to make use of, to have enjoyment of’”); cognate with Modern German brauchen, to use.
[edit] Pronunciation
[edit] Noun
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Singular |
Plural |
fruit (countable and uncountable; plural fruits) (see Usage notes for discussion of plural)
- (botany) The seed-bearing part of a plant, often edible, colourful/colorful and fragrant, produced from a floral ovary after fertilization.
- While cucumber is technically a fruit, one would not usually use it to make jam.
- Any sweet, edible part of a plant that resembles seed-bearing fruit, even if it does not develop from a floral ovary; also used in a technically imprecise sense for some sweet or sweetish vegetables, such as rhubarb, that resemble a true fruit or are used in cookery as if they were a fruit.
- Fruit salad is a simple way of making fruits into a dessert.
- A positive end result or reward of labour or effort.
- His long nights in the office eventually bore fruit, when his business boomed and he was given a raise.
- Offspring from a sexual union.
- The litter was the fruit of the union between our whippet and their terrier.
- (slang, offensive) A homosexual or effeminate man.
[edit] Usage notes
- In the botanical and figurative senses, fruit is a singular noun and also used as a collective noun.
- a bowl of fruit; eat plenty of fruit; the tree provides fruit.
- Fruits is also sometimes used as the plural in the botanical sense.
- berries, achenes, and nuts are all fruits; the fruits of this plant split into two parts.
- When fruit is used as a collective noun in the botanical sense, a piece of fruit is often used as the corresponding singular form.
- In senses other than the botanical or figurative ones derived from the botanical sense, the plural is fruits.
[edit] Derived terms
Terms derived from fruit
[edit] Related terms
[edit] Translations
part of plant
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food
figuratively: positive end result or reward of labour or effort
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figuratively: child of a marriage
offensive slang: homosexual or effeminate man
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked
[edit] Verb
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Infinitive |
Third person singular |
Simple past |
Past participle |
Present participle |
to fruit (third-person singular simple present fruits, present participle fruiting, simple past and past participle fruited)
- To produce fruit.
[edit] See also
- Category:Fruits for a list of fruits
Fruit on Wikipedia.Wikipedia- List of fruits in Wikipedia
[edit] Catalan
[edit] Etymology
Latin fructus
[edit] Noun
fruit
- fruit
[edit] Dutch
[edit] Pronunciation
[edit] Noun
fruit n. (invariable)
- (botany) fruit (produced by trees or bushes, or any sweet vegetable)
[edit] Synonyms
[edit] French
[edit] Etymology
Latin fructus, "enjoyment", "proceeds", "profits", "produce", "income", a derivative of frui, "to have the benefit of", "to use", "to enjoy", from Proto-Indo-European *bhrug- (“‘to make use of, to have enjoyment of’”).
[edit] Pronunciation
[edit] Noun
fruit m. (plural fruits)
- fruit (1, 2, 3, 4)
