Lemon definition | Dictionary.com

lem⋅on

[lem-uh

–noun

1.	the yellowish, acid fruit of a subtropical citrus tree, Citrus limon.

2.	the tree itself.

3.	lemon yellow.

4.	Informal. a person or thing that proves to be defective, imperfect, or unsatisfactory; dud: His car turned out to be a lemon.

–adjective

5.	made of or with lemon.

6.	having the color, taste, or odor of lemon.

Origin:
1350–1400; 1905–10 for def. 4; < ML lemōnium; r. ME lymon < ML līmō, (s. līmōn-) < Pers līmū, līmun

Related forms:

lem⋅on⋅ish, adjective

lem⋅on⋅like, lem⋅on⋅y, adjective

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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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lem·on (lěm'ən)

1. A spiny, Asian evergreen tree (Citrus limon) widely cultivated for its yellow, egg-shaped fruit.
2. The fruit of this tree, having a yellow aromatic rind and juicy, acid pulp.
Lemon yellow.
Informal One that is unsatisfactory or defective: Their new car turned out to be a lemon.

adj.

Lemon-yellow.
1. Made from lemons.
2. Tasting or smelling like lemons.

[Middle English limon, from Old French, from Old Italian limone, from Arabic laymūn, līmūn, from Persian līmūn.]
lem'on·y adj.

Word History: Although we know neither where the lemon was first grown nor when it first came to Europe, we know from its name that it came to us from the Middle East because we can trace its etymological path. One of the earliest occurrences of our word is found in a Middle English customs document of 1420-1421. The Middle English word limon goes back to Old French limon, showing that yet another delicacy passed into England through France. The Old French word probably came from Italian limone, another step on the route that leads back to the Arabic word laymūn or līmūn, which comes from the Persian word līmūn.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Lemon

Lem"on\ (l[e^]m"[u^]n), n. [F. limon, Per. l[imac]m[=u]n; cf. Ar. laim[=u]n, Sp. limon, It. limone. Cf. Lime a fruit.]

1. (Bot.) An oval or roundish fruit resembling the orange, and containing a pulp usually intensely acid. It is produced by a tropical tree of the genus Citrus, the common fruit known in commerce being that of the species C. Limonum or C. Medica (var. Limonum). There are many varieties of the fruit, some of which are sweet.

2. The tree which bears lemons; the lemon tree.

Lemon grass (Bot.), a fragrant East Indian grass (Andropogon Sh[oe]nanthus, and perhaps other allied species), which yields the grass oil used in perfumery.

Lemon sole (Zo["o]l.), a yellow European sole (Solea aurantiaca).

Salts of lemon (Chem.), a white crystalline substance, inappropriately named, as it consists of an acid potassium oxalate and contains no citric acid, which is the characteristic acid of lemon; -- called also salts of sorrel. It is used in removing ink stains. See Oxalic acid, under Oxalic. [Colloq.]

Language Translation for : Lemon

Spanish: limón,

German: die Zitrone, Zitronen-…,

Japanese: レモン

More Translations »

lemon (1)

type of citrus fruit, c.1400, from O.Fr. limon "citrus fruit," from O.Prov., from Ar. laimun or Pers. limu(n), generic terms for citrus fruits (compare lime); cognate with Skt. nimbu "the lime." Slang meaning "a Quaalude" is 1960s, from Lemmon, name of a pharmaceutical company that once manufactured the drug. Lemonade is first recorded 1663, from Fr. limonade; earlier Eng. spelling was lemonado (c.1640) with false Sp. ending.

lemon (2)

"worthless thing," 1909, Amer.Eng. slang; from lemon (1), perhaps via criminal slang sense of "a person who is a loser, a simpleton," which is perhaps from the notion of someone a sharper can "suck the juice out of." A pool hall hustle was called a lemon game (1908); while to hand someone a lemon was British slang (1906) for "to pass off a sub-standard article as a good one." Or it simply may be a metaphor for something which "leaves a bad taste in one's mouth."

Lemon

A very disappointing investment. Your expected return wasn't even close to being achieved.

Investopedia Commentary

Just like the used car that breaks down while driving out of the lot, these investments leave a bitter taste.