leechee
1
7.2
- noun
- /liˈtʃi/
- Archaic
- He peeled the brittle shell from the leechee and popped the sweet fruit into his mouth.
Examples
-
She offered me a bowl of fresh leechees for dessert after dinner.
-
The market had dried leechees imported from China.
-
I bought some fresh leechees at the market.
-
Have you ever tasted a leechee?
-
He peeled the brittle shell from the leechee and popped the sweet fruit into his mouth.
-
She offered me a bowl of fresh leechees for dessert after dinner.
-
The market had dried leechees imported from China.
Synonyms
2
4.7
A small round fruit with a rough red shell, soft white inside, and one large seed
1
7.4
A small round Chinese fruit with a thin shell, soft sweet inside, and one seed
1
8.8
A small round fruit with thin rough skin, sweet white flesh, and a single hard seed
1
7.1
A small round fruit with thin red skin and sweet flesh
Surface Forms
Etymology
The word leechee comes from the Chinese name lìzhī and the Cantonese form lai chi, which sound like 'lee-chee' in English, and English borrowed that name for the small red fruit with a thin shell and sweet white flesh. So remembering that leechee is the original Chinese name helps explain why the word refers to that particular sweet fruit.