limón

See also: limon and Limon

Galician

Alternative forms

• limão, limom (reintegrationist)

Etymology

Attested since 1457 (limõ (“lemon tree”)). From Andalusian Arabic, from Arabic لَيْمُون (laymūn), from Persian لیمو (limu), لیمون (limun), from Sanskrit निम्बू (nimbū).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [liˈmoŋ]

Noun

limón m (plural limóns)

1. lemon
2. (dated) lemon tree

Related terms

• limoada
• limoeiro

References

• “limõ” in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval, SLI - ILGA 2006–2022.
• “limõ” in Xavier Varela Barreiro & Xavier Gómez Guinovart: Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval. SLI / Grupo TALG / ILG, 2006–2018.
• “limón” in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega, SLI - ILGA 2006–2013.
• “limón” in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega. Santiago: ILG.
• “limón” in Álvarez, Rosario (coord.): Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués, Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega.

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Arabic لَيْمُون (laymūn) via Andalusian Arabic, from Persian لیمو (limu), لیمون (limun), from Sanskrit निम्बू (nimbū).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /liˈmon/ [liˈmõn]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -on
• Syllabification: li‧món

Noun

limón m (plural limones)

1. (Spain, Chile) lemon (fruit)

   Synonym: citrón

2. (North America) lime (fruit)

Usage notes

• Not all countries make a distinction between 'lime' and 'lemon'; limón may be used for both. Where this is the case, 'lime' is usually the default reading, and they may be distinguished as limón verde (lime) and limón amarillo (lemon), or simply as limón (lime) and limón amarillo (lemon) – in much of North America – or limón (lemon) and limón verde (lime) in Spain. In Mexico and much of South America, lima may be used for 'lemon'.

Derived terms

• jugo de limón
• pez de limón
• si la vida te da limones, haz limonada
• té de limón
• tiburón limón
• zumo de limón

 

Descendants

• → Jakaltek: lemniẍ
• → Seri: ḻimoon
• → Tetelcingo Nahuatl: alemu
• → Ye'kwana: dimuni

See also

• lima f

Further reading

• “limón”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014
• “Why asking for a lime isn't so easy in Spanish-speaking countries”