persimmon

/pərˈsɪmən/

/ˈpʌsɪmən/

Other forms: persimmons

A persimmon is an orange or red-colored fruit that resembles a small tomato but tastes extremely sweet.

This sugary orange fruit gets its English name from an American Indian language because of the variety of persimmon that is native to North America. It comes from the Algonquian word pasimenan, which means "artificially dried fruit." Many other languages of the world, however, have adopted the Japanese name kaki instead, because of the species of persimmon that's native to Asia.

Definitions of persimmon

1. noun

   any of several tropical trees of the genus Diospyros
   synonyms: persimmon tree

   types:

   Diospyros kaki, Japanese persimmon, kaki

   small deciduous Asiatic tree bearing large red or orange edible astringent fruit

   American persimmon, Diospyros virginiana, possumwood

   medium-sized tree of dry woodlands in the southern and eastern United States bearing yellow or orange very astringent fruit that is edible when fully ripe

   Diospyros lotus, date plum

   an Asiatic persimmon tree cultivated for its small yellow or purplish-black edible fruit much valued by Afghan tribes

   type of:

   fruit tree

   tree bearing edible fruit
2. noun

   orange fruit resembling a plum; edible when fully ripe
   type of:

   berry

   any of numerous small and pulpy edible fruits; used as desserts or in making jams and jellies and preserves