kumquat

/ˌkʌmˈkwɑt/

/ˈkʌmkwɒt/

Other forms: kumquats

A kumquat is a very small, sour citrus fruit. Kumquats look like tiny oranges — and you eat them whole, skin and all.

Kumquats are often used to make jam or cooked with sugar to counter their acidic flavor. If you're a fan of sour candy, you might love the taste of a fresh kumquat, and the sensation of biting through its sweet rind to a sour burst of juice at the center. Kumquats originated in China, and their name comes from the Cantonese kamkwat, from kam, "golden," and kwat, "orange."

Definitions of kumquat

1. noun

   small oval citrus fruit with thin sweet rind and very acid pulp
   type of:

   citrous fruit, citrus, citrus fruit

   any of numerous fruits of the genus Citrus having thick rind and juicy pulp; grown in warm regions
2. noun

   any of several trees or shrubs of the genus Fortunella bearing small orange-colored edible fruits with thick sweet-flavored skin and sour pulp
   synonyms: cumquat, kumquat tree

   types:

   Fortunella japonica, marumi, marumi kumquat, round kumquat

   shrub bearing round-fruited kumquats

   Fortunella margarita, nagami, nagami kumquat, oval kumquat

   shrub bearing oval-fruited kumquats

   type of:

   citrus, citrus tree

   any of numerous tropical usually thorny evergreen trees of the genus Citrus having leathery evergreen leaves and widely cultivated for their juicy edible fruits having leathery aromatic rinds