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 frūctus "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", English brook "to tolerate". Displaced native Middle English ovet "fruit" (from Old English ofett "fruit"), Middle English wastum, wastom "fruit, growth" (from Old English wæstm "growth, produce, increase, fruit"), Middle English blede "fruit, flower, offspring" (from Old English blēd "fruit, flower").
[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 usually treated as uncountable:
- 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 treated as uncountable in the botanical sense, a piece of fruit is often used as a singulative.
- In senses other than the botanical or figurative ones derived from the botanical sense, the plural is fruits.
[edit] Derived terms
[edit] Related terms
[edit] Translations
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- 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.
[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
[edit] Noun
fruit
[edit] Dutch
[edit] Pronunciation
[edit] Noun
fruit n. inv.
- (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)