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Definition of persimmon - 5 dictionary results
per⋅sim⋅mon
[per-sim-uh
n] 
–noun
| 1. | any of several trees of the genus Diospyros, esp. D. virginiana, of North America, bearing astringent, plumlike fruit that is sweet and edible when ripe, and D. kaki, of Japan and China, bearing soft, red or orange fruit. |
| 2. | the fruit itself. |
Origin:
1605–15, Americanism; < Virginia Algonquian (E sp.) pessemmins, pichamins, pushemins, putchamins (unidentified initial element + reflex of Proto-Algonquian *-min- fruit, berry)
1605–15, Americanism; < Virginia Algonquian (E sp.) pessemmins, pichamins, pushemins, putchamins (unidentified initial element + reflex of Proto-Algonquian *-min- fruit, berry)
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 persimmon
| per·sim·mon (pər-sĭm'ən) n.
[Of Virginia Algonquian origin.] |
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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Persimmon
Per*sim"mon\, n. [Virginia Indian.] (Bot.) An American tree (Diospyros Virginiana) and its fruit, found from New York southward. The fruit is like a plum in appearance, but is very harsh and astringent until it has been exposed to frost, when it becomes palatable and nutritious. Japanese persimmon, Diospyros Kaki and its red or yellow edible fruit, which outwardly resembles a tomato, but contains a few large seeds.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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persimmon
1612, from Algonquian (Powhatan) pasimenan "fruit dried artificially," from pasimeneu "he dries fruit."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: per·sim·mon
Pronunciation: p&r-'sim-&n
Function: noun
1 : any tree or shrub of the genus Diospyros;especially : one (D. virginiana) of the eastern half of the U.S. whose bark has been used as an astringent
2 : the usually orange several-seeded globularberry of a persimmon that is edible when fully ripe but usually extremely astringent when unripe
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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