kumquat
UK /ˈkʌmkwɒt/ · US /ˈkʌmkwɑt/ noun
Forms kumquats cumquat
- noun A small, orange citrus-like fruit which is native to Asia (Citrus japonica, syn. Fortunella japonica).
Synonyms
Etymology
From Cantonese 金橘 (gam¹ gwat¹) or 金桔 (gam¹ gwat¹, literally “golden tangerine”). Related to loquat – same second character.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A small tree of the genus Citrus (C. Japonica) growing in China and Japan; also, its small acid, orange-colored fruit used for preserves.
Etymology [Chin. kin keu.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “kumquat”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details