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Glite Dictionary
greengage plum

greengage plum

6.4
A green plum with a very sweet, soft taste
  • noun
  • UK
translation icon : ciruela greengage
  • Unlike ordinary plums, greengage plum has a distinct, rich sweetness that many people love.

Examples

  • I bought a greengage plum from the market.

  • She found a basket of greengage plums at the farmer's market and bought them for dessert.

  • The jam was made from ripe greengage plums picked fresh from the garden.

  • The greengage plums were ripe and delicious.

  • Fresh greengage plums are delicious and perfect for making jams and jellies.

  • During the summer, we enjoy eating greengage plums right off the tree.

  • You can find ripe greengage plums at local farmers' markets in the late summer.

Synonyms

greengage
vsgreengage plum
  • UK
1 8.6

A small sweet green plum with a delicate taste

has a richer, more intense flavor

Surface Forms

greengage plum singular
greengage plums plural

Morphology

greengage + plum

The phrase is fully compositional: 'greengage' denotes a specific variety of plum and 'plum' denotes the fruit, so the combination simply names that variety of plum. There is no idiomatic or metaphorical shift, so a learner who knows both constituents can infer the meaning directly.

Etymology

Greengage plum may come from Sir William Gage, who long ago brought this sweet green fruit to England; people started calling the plum by his name. That's why greengage plum means 'a rich, sweet green or yellowish plum'.