Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
🌳 A tropical tree 🍈 A tropical fruit
bullock's heart

bullock's heart

9.9
A small tropical tree that grows a slightly bristly heart-shaped fruit
  • noun
  • UK
translation icon : corazón de bullock
  • You can recognize a bullock's heart by its unique heart-shaped and slightly bristly exterior.

Examples

  • The ripe bullock's heart was sliced and served as dessert after dinner.

  • I found a ripe bullock's heart at the market.

  • Local farmers cultivate bullock's heart trees for their nutritious fruit.

  • Have you ever tasted bullock's heart fruit?

  • Local farmers cultivate bullock's heart trees for their acidic fruit.

  • The ripe bullock's heart was enjoyed fresh, known for its unique flavor.

  • You can recognize a bullock's heart by its distinctive heart-shaped fruit.

Synonyms

bullock's heart tree
vsbullock's heart
  • UK
9.9

A small tropical tree that produces a heart-shaped fruit with a sweet-tart taste

is the same but phrased with different word order
bullock heart
vsbullock's heart
  • UK
9.9

A small tropical tree that makes a rough, heart-shaped sour fruit

uses acidic instead of the adjective acid to describe the fruit
Annona reticulata
vsbullock's heart
  • Specialized
9.9

A small tropical tree that produces a rough, heart-shaped, sour fruit eaten as a custard apple

focuses on the common name and the fruit description
custard apple
vsbullock's heart
  • UK
5.9

A sweet, soft fruit from a tropical tree that you eat fresh

describes an acidic bristly heart shaped fruit rather than a sweet one

Surface Forms

bullock's heart singular
bullock's hearts plural

Morphology

bullock's + heart

A B1 learner knowing 'bullock' and 'heart' would most likely interpret this as the literal heart of a young bull (an animal organ); that does not convey the meaning 'a custard-apple fruit'. Although 'heart' might hint at a heart-like shape, this shape cue is insufficient to predict the fruit sense, and 'bullock's' is not a transparent classifier here. Because the overall lexicalized meaning (a specific tropical fruit) cannot be derived from the parts, the expression is opaque.

Etymology

Bullock's heart may come from how the fruit looks: the small, bristly fruit is shaped like a heart and its rough skin reminded people of a young bullock's coat, so the name came to mean this tree and its fruit.