avocado

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun a pear-shaped tropical fruit with green or blackish skin and rich yellowish pulp enclosing a single large seed
  2. noun tropical American tree bearing large pulpy green fruits
  3. adjective of the dull yellowish green of the meat of an avocado

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin American Spanish avocado, from the earlier aguacate, which comes from Classical Nahuatl āhuacatl (“avocado”). Doublet of abacate. Compare aguacatillo, avocadillo. The first mention can be found in the 1696 catalogue of Jamaican plants.

In classic literature

Synonyms

alligator pear, avocado pear, aguacate

A single word — an entire dictionary opens.

Type a word, a sentence, a book title, or a link to an English article. WordNet and the Classics answer.

Try

A library of classics · a vault of words · instant etymology & meaning

Continue reading