apricot

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun Asian tree having clusters of usually white blossoms and edible fruit resembling the peach
  2. noun downy yellow to rosy-colored fruit resembling a small peach
  3. noun a shade of pink tinged with yellow

Etymology

Alteration of apricock (with influence from French abricot), itself an alteration of abrecock (with influence from Latin apricum (“sunny place”)), from dialectal Catalan abrecoc, abricoc, variants of standard albercoc, from Arabic الْبَرْقُوق (al-barqūq, “plums”), from Byzantine Greek βερικοκκία (berikokkía, “apricot tree”), from Ancient Greek πραικόκιον (praikókion), from Late Latin (persica) praecocia (literally “(peaches) which ripen early”), (mālum) praecoquum (literally “(apple) which ripens early”). Doublet of precocious.

In classic literature

Synonyms

apricot tree

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