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Tomato - 4 dictionary results
to⋅ma⋅to
[tuh-mey-toh, -mah-] 
–noun, plural -toes.
| 1. | any of several plants belonging to the genus Lycopersicon, of the nightshade family, native to Mexico and Central and South America, esp. the widely cultivated species L. lycopersicum, bearing a mildly acid, pulpy, usually red fruit eaten raw or cooked as a vegetable. |
| 2. | the fruit itself. |
| 3. | Older Slang: Sometimes Offensive. a girl or woman. |
Origin:
1595–1605; 1915–20 for def. 3; earlier tomate < Sp < Nahuatl tomatl
1595–1605; 1915–20 for def. 3; earlier tomate < Sp < Nahuatl tomatl
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 Tomato
| to·ma·to (tə-mā'tō, -mä'-) n. pl. to·ma·toes
[Alteration of Spanish tomate, from Nahuatl tomatl.] to·ma'to·ey (-tō-ē) adj. Word History: Among the greatest contributions to world civilization made by the early inhabitants of the Americas are plant foods such as the potato and squash. The tomato, whose name comes ultimately from the Nahuatl language spoken by the Aztecs and other groups in Mexico and Central America, was another important contribution. When the Spanish conquered this area, they brought the tomato back to Spain and, borrowing the Nahuatl word tomatl for it, named it tomate, a form shared in French, Portuguese, and early Modern English. Tomate, first recorded in 1604, gave way to tomato, a form created in English either because it was assumed to be Spanish or under the influence of the word potato. As is well known, people at first resisted eating this New World food because its membership in the nightshade family made it seem potentially poisonous, but it is now is an important element of many world cuisines. |
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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Tomato
To*ma"to\, n.; pl. Tomatoes. [Sp. or Pg. tomate, of American Indian origin; cf. Mexican tomail.] (Bot.) The fruit of a plant of the Nightshade family (Lycopersicum esculentun); also, the plant itself. The fruit, which is called also love apple, is usually of a rounded, flattened form, but often irregular in shape. It is of a bright red or yellow color, and is eaten either cooked or uncooked. Tomato gall (Zo["o]l.), a large gall consisting of a mass of irregular swellings on the stems and leaves of grapevines. They are yellowish green, somewhat tinged with red, and produced by the larva of a small two-winged fly (Lasioptera vitis). Tomato sphinx (Zo["o]l.), the adult or imago of the tomato worm. It closely resembles the tobacco hawk moth. Called also tomato hawk moth. See Illust. of Hawk moth. Tomato worm (Zo["o]l.), the larva of a large hawk moth (Sphinx, or Macrosila, quinquemaculata) which feeds upon the leaves of the tomato and potato plants, often doing considerable damage. Called also potato worm.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : Tomato
Spanish:
tomate,
German:
die Tomate,
Japanese:
トマト
tomato
1753, earlier tomate (1604), from Sp. tomate (1554) from Nahuatl tomatl "a tomato," lit. "the swelling fruit," from tomana "to swell." Spelling probably influenced by potato (1565). A member of the nightshade family, which all contain poisonous alkaloids. Introduced in Europe from the New World, by 1550 they were regularly consumed in Italy but only grown as ornamental plants in England and not eaten there or in the U.S. at first. An encyclopedia of 1753 describes it as "a fruit eaten either stewed or raw by the Spaniards and Italians and by the Jew families of England." Introduced in U.S. as part of a program by Sec. of State Thomas Jefferson (1789), but not commonly eaten until after c.1830. Alternate name love apple and alleged aphrodisiac qualities have not been satisfactorily explained; perhaps from It. name pomodoro, taken as from adorare "to adore," but probably actually from d'or "of gold" (in reference to color) or de Moro "of the Moors." Slang meaning "an attractive girl" is recorded from 1929.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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