damson plum tree

7.9

A small plum tree that makes tart fruit called damsons used for jam

noun

: ciruelo damasceno

The damson plum tree in our garden produces a bountiful crop every autumn.

Examples

She made jam from the fruit harvested from her damson plum tree.
Orchards filled with damson plum trees were once common in the English countryside.
The damson plum tree produces delicious fruit.
Have you seen the damson plum trees in bloom?
The damson plum tree in our garden produces a bountiful crop of tart fruit every autumn.
She made delicious jam from the small, oval fruit harvested from her damson plum tree.
Orchards filled with damson plum trees were once a common sight in the rural English countryside.

Synonyms

plum

vsdamson plum tree

7 1.0

A tree that grows edible round or oval fruit with one hard stone

is the specific cultivated tart-fruit subtype within that broader group

plum tree

vsdamson plum tree

1 1.1

A tree that grows plums you can eat

refers specifically to a long cultivated tart-fruit plant rather than any such plant

Prunus insititia

vsdamson plum tree

Specialized

9.9

A small plum tree that produces tart fruit for jam

is the cultivated local form of that species

damson plum

vsdamson plum tree

6.1

A small dark purple plum or the tree that grows it with a tart taste often used for jam

is the long cultivated tree grown specifically for those tart fruits

Prunus domestica insititia

vsdamson plum tree

Specialized

9.9

A type of plum tree grown for fruit you can eat, like greengages and damsons

is the particular cultivated subtype within that subspecies group

Prunus domestica

vsdamson plum tree

Specialized

6.8

A tree that makes sweet plums people eat

is a narrower cultivated form rather than the whole species

Surface Forms

damson plum tree singular

damson plum trees plural

Morphology

damson + plum + tree

The phrase is compositionally built: 'damson' names a variety of plum, 'plum' specifies the fruit/tree type, and 'tree' names the plant, so the meaning 'a plum tree of the damson variety' is directly inferable from the parts. This modifier+noun pattern is a common and transparent noun compounding found across languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will understand it.

Etymology

Damson plum tree likely gets its name from the city of Damascus, because the fruit was brought to Europe from that area long ago. People called it a 'Damascene' plum and the word later shortened to damson, so damson plum tree now means the tree that gives this small, tart plum.