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Lemon - 8 dictionary results
lem⋅on
[lem-uh
n]
–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
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
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To Lemon
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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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.]
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : Lemon
Spanish:
limón,
German:
die Zitrone, Zitronen-…,
Japanese:
レモン
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."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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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.
See also: Expected Return, Underperform
Investopedia.com. Copyright © 1999-2005 - All rights reserved. Owned and Operated by Investopedia Inc.
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lemon
- A poorly performing investment. Many technology stocks became lemons during the 2000 and 2001 bear market.
Wall Street Words: An A to Z Guide to Investment Terms by David L. Scott.
Copyright © 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Copyright © 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Main Entry: lem·on
Pronunciation: 'lem-&n
Function: noun
: an acid fruit that contains citric acid and vitamin C, is botanically a many-seeded paleyellow oblong berry, and is produced by a stout thorny tree of the genus Citrus (C. limon); also : this tree —lemon adjective
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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