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Glite Dictionary
drupaceous

drupaceous

1 9.9
Like a fruit with soft flesh and one hard stone around the seed
  • adjective
  • /ˌdruːˈpeɪʃəs/
  • Specialized
: drupeáceo
  • The peach is a classic example of a drupaceous fruit.

Examples

  • The drupaceous nature of cherries makes them distinct from berries.

  • The drupaceous fruits of the cherry tree are quite popular.

  • Botanists often categorize olives as drupaceous because of their structure.

  • Many drupaceous plants thrive in warm climates.

  • The mango is a drupaceous fruit known for its sweet, juicy flesh and a large pit inside.

  • Many drupaceous fruits, such as cherries and peaches, have a characteristic hard seed surrounded by soft flesh.

  • In the orchard, the gardener carefully examined the drupaceous fruits to see which ones were ripe for harvesting.

Surface Forms

drupaceous positive

Morphology

drupaceous = drupe (semi-transparent) = drupe + aceous

The word is transparently formed from 'drupe' plus the adjectival suffix '-aceous', but it is a specialized botanical term.

Etymology

Drupaceous comes from the simple word drupe, which originally meant an 'olive' or a small 'stone fruit'. So, something described as drupaceous has a soft, fleshy outside and a single hard 'stone' around the seed, like a peach, cherry, or olive.