melon
Use Melon in a sentence
ən noun
1.
the fruit of any of various plants of the gourd family, as the muskmelon or watermelon.
2.
medium crimson or deep pink.
3.
the visible upper portion of the head of a surfacing whale or dolphin, including the beak, eyes, and blowhole.
4.
Informal.
a.
a large extra dividend, often in the form of stock, to be distributed to stockholders: Profits zoomed so in the last quarter that the corporation cut a nice melon.
b.
any windfall of money to be divided among specified participants.
Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English < Late Latin mēlōn- (stem of mēlō), short for mēlopepō < Greek mēlopépōn apple-shaped melon, equivalent to mêlo(n) apple + pépōn pepo
1350–1400; Middle English < Late Latin mēlōn- (stem of mēlō), short for mēlopepō < Greek mēlopépōn apple-shaped melon, equivalent to mêlo(n) apple + pépōn pepo
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
|
Link To melon
00:10
Melon
is always a great word to know.
So is lollapalooza. Does it mean:
| an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance. |
| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
melon (ˈmɛlən) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | muskmelon See watermelon any of several varieties of two cucurbitaceous vines, cultivated for their edible fruit |
| 2. | the fruit of any of these plants, which has a hard rind and juicy flesh |
| 3. | slang (US), (Canadian) cut a melon to declare an abnormally high dividend to shareholders |
| [C14: via Old French from Late Latin mēlo, shortened form of mēlopepō, from Greek mēlopepōn, from mēlon apple + pepōn gourd] | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
melon
late 14c., from O.Fr. melon, from M.L. melonem (nom. melo), from L. melopeponem, a kind of pumpkin, from Gk. melopepon "gourd-apple" (name for several kinds of gourds bearing sweet fruit), from melon "apple" (from PIE source attested in Hittite mahla- "grapevine, branch") + pepon, a kind of gourd, noun
use of pepon "ripe." In Gk., melon "apple" was used in a generic way for all foreign fruits.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
The deeper in color, the longer the fully grown melon was on the vine getting sweet.
Also on the ballot were tangerine, green apple and mango melon.
In drums near his melon patch rest gallons of his urine, being converted by bacteria into ammonia fertilizer.
For example, melon contains substances similar to ragweed pollen, and apples have allergens similar to tree pollen.
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