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lemon
9 dictionary results for: Lemon
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
lem·on 
[lem-uhn] Pronunciation Key
—Related forms
[lem-uhn] Pronunciation Key –noun
–adjective
| 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. |
| 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
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
| lem·on
(lěm'ən) Pronunciation Key
n.
adj.
[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. |
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
lemon (1)
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.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
lemon (2)
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
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
| lemon | |
noun | |
| 1. | yellow oval fruit with juicy acidic flesh |
| 2. | a strong yellow color [syn: gamboge] |
| 3. | a small evergreen tree that originated in Asia but is widely cultivated for its fruit |
| 4. | a distinctive tart flavor characteristic of lemons |
| 5. | an artifact (especially an automobile) that is defective or unsatisfactory |
WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
Investopedia - Cite This Source - Share This
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.
Wallstreet Words - Cite This Source - Share This
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 for Today's Investor by David L. Scott.
Copyright © 2003 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Copyright © 2003 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
U.S. Gazetteer - Cite This Source - Share This
Lemon Grove, CA (city, FIPS 41124) Location: 32.73340 N, 117.03284 W
Population (1990): 23984 (8638 housing units)
Area: 9.8 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Zip code(s): 91945
U.S. Gazetteer, U.S. Census Bureau
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
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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