mangosteen
UK /ˈmæŋ.ɡə.stiːn/ · US /ˈmæŋ.ɡoʊ.stin/ noun
Forms mangosteens mangostan mangousteen
- noun A tropical fruit of the tree genus Garcinia.
- noun (more specifically) A tropical fruit of the tree Garcinia mangostana.
- noun The tree on which the fruit grows.
Synonyms
Etymology
Borrowed from Dutch mangosteen (“mangosteen”), from Malay manggustan ~ manggista ~ manggistan fusing manggis hutan “jungle manggis” applied to Garcinia hombroniana or G. malaccensis; manggis is a generic word applied to other related garcinias like above and Garcinia penangiana (manggis burung). Not related to mango, though this may have influenced the spelling and pronunciation.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A tree of the East Indies of the genus Garcinia (G. Mangostana). The tree grows to the height of eighteen feet, and bears fruit also called mangosteen, of the size of a small apple, the pulp of which is very delicious food.
Etymology [Malay mangusta, mangis.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “mangosteen”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details