winter melon

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Jump to navigation Jump to search

English

[edit]

Etymology 1

[edit]

Calque of Chinese 冬瓜 (dōngguā).

Fruits of Benincasa hispida

Noun

[edit]

winter melon (plural winter melons)

  1. Benincasa hispida, a species of the gourd family (Cucurbitaceae) commonly cultivated in Asia.
Synonyms
[edit]
Translations
[edit]

Etymology 2

[edit]

Calque of French melon d’hiver or German Wintermelone.

'Canaria', a cultivar of Spanish melon

Noun

[edit]

winter melon (plural winter melons)

  1. Any late-maturing variety of true melon (Cucumis melo), such as honeydew melon (Inodorus Group), Cassaba melon (Cassaba Group), and Spanish melon (Ibericus Group).
Synonyms
[edit]
Translations
[edit]

Etymology 3

[edit]

Noun

[edit]

winter melon (plural winter melons)

  1. (obsolete) A type of watermelon (Citrullus lanatus).
    • 1699, John Evelyn, Acetaria: A Discourse of Sallets:
      There is also a winter-melon, large and with black seeds, exceedingly cooling, brought us from abroad, and the hotter climates, where they drink water after eating melons...