pawpaw
/ˈpɔːpɔː/ noun
Forms pawpaws papaw paw-paw pappaw
- noun Any member of the genus Asimina of trees and shrubs native to eastern North America, especially common pawpaw (Asimina triloba).
- noun (Australia) Papaya (Carica papaya), a widely cultivated tropical fruit tree.
- noun Mountain pawpaw (Vasconcellea pubescens), a fruit tree native to South America.
- noun The fruit itself of such trees.
- noun (dialectal or colloquial) Grandfather.
Synonyms
custard apple prairie banana hillbilly mango papaya mountain pawpaw mountain papaya peepaw pepaw papaia papaya tree melon tree Carica papaya papaw papaw tree Asimina triloba
Etymology
Via Portuguese and Spanish papaya from Lokono papáia; compare also Kari'na kapaja. Doublet of papaya.
Alternatively from Yuchi pahpah.
Related to papa, or pa(w) pa(w) (one’s father’s father).
Webster’s 1913
- noun See Papaw.
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “pawpaw”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details