sapote

English

Alternative forms

• zapote

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish zapote, from a Nahuan language, from Proto-Nahuan *ȼapo-tl. Doublet of chapote.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /səˈpəʊtiː/, /səˈpəʊteɪ/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /səˈpoʊti/, /səˈpoʊteɪ/

Noun

sapote (plural sapotes)

1. The soft, edible fruit of various South American trees, including the sapodilla.
   • 2009 June 28, John Anderson, “His Weird Side: That’s Where the Fun Is”, in The New York Times‎^[1], archived from the original on 10 June 2021:

     Besides, the theater gives him a rush that can only be equaled by, perhaps, the healthy fruiting of a white sapote.

   • 2020 October 9, Palisa Anderson, “Not-quite-chocolate-pudding fruit: why black sapote is 'utterly unexpected and delightful'”, in The Guardian‎^[2], →ISSN, archived from the original on 11 March 2021:

     So there are black and white sapotes (no relation), mamey and chiku sapotes (same family). Black sapotes are not the only sapotes – but I reckon Jeannette Winterson would heartily agree there should be a place for one in your fruit bowl.
     Black sapote can be used very successfully in place of bananas when baking.

   1. Sapotaceae species:
      1. Manilkara zapota, sapodilla, naseberry, native to Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Belize, and possibly El Salvador.
      2. Pouteria campechiana, yellow sapote, native to Mexico and Central America.
      3. Pouteria sapota, mamey sapote, from southern Mexico to northern South America.
      4. Pouteria viridis, green sapote, native to lowland southern Mexico.
   2. Ebenaceae species:
      1. Diospyros digyna, black sapote, from eastern Mexico south to Colombia.
      2. Diospyros texana, chapote, is native to the lower Rio Grande valley region in Texas and Mexico.
   3. Rutaceae species:
      1. Casimiroa edulis, white sapote, native to northern and central Mexico, Costa Rica, El Salvador and Guatemala.

Translations

fruit of various South American trees

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 美果欖 / 美果榄 (měiguǒlǎn), 白柿 (báishì)

• Esperanto: sapoto
• Finnish: sapotilla
• Polish: sapota f
• Russian: сапо́та (ru) f (sapóta)
• Spanish: zapote (es) m, (Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico) mamey (es) m

Anagrams

• postea

Tagalog

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Nahuan *ȼapo-tl

Nahuanbor.

Spanish zapotebor.

Tagalog sapote

Borrowed from Spanish zapote, borrowed from a Nahuan language, from Proto-Nahuan *ȼapo-tl.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /saˈpote/ [sɐˈpoː.t̪ɛ]
• Rhymes: -ote
• Syllabification: sa‧po‧te

Noun

sapote (Baybayin spelling ᜐᜉᜓᜆᜒ)

1. mamey sapote (Pouteria sapota)
2. fruit of mamey sapote

   Synonym: tsiko-mamey

Related terms

• sapote negro
• tsiko
• Zapote
• Zapote I
• Zapote II
• Zapote III
• Zapote IV
• Zapote V

Further reading

• “sapote”, in KWF Diksiyonaryo ng Wikang Filipino, Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino, 2025
• “sapote”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, 2018
• Cuadrado Muñiz, Adolfo (1972), Hispanismos en el tagalo: diccionario de vocablos de origen español vigentes en esta lengua filipina, Madrid: Oficina de Educación Iberoamericana, page 602