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Glite Dictionary
monkey-bread tree

monkey-bread tree

9.9
A large African tree with a very thick trunk that has fruit with a soft inside that people eat
  • noun
  • South African
translation icon : árbol de pan de mono
  • Local villagers collect the fruit of the monkey-bread tree to use its nutritious pulp in food and drinks.

Examples

  • The monkey-bread tree grows in the savannas of Africa and is known for its massive trunk.

  • During our safari, we stopped to rest under a towering monkey-bread tree for some shade.

  • The monkey-bread tree can grow up to 100 feet tall.

  • Many animals depend on the monkey-bread tree for food.

  • During our safari, we stopped to rest under a towering monkey-bread tree for some shade.

  • Local villagers collect the fruit of the monkey-bread tree to use its nutritious pulp in food and drinks.

  • The monkey-bread tree grows in the savannas of Africa and is known for its massive trunk.

Synonyms

baobab
vsmonkey-bread tree
  • South African
2 8.9

A large African tree with a very thick trunk and large fruit with a soft inside you can eat

is a descriptive everyday name rather than the short common form
Adansonia digitata
vsmonkey-bread tree
  • Specialized
9.9

A very large African tree with a thick trunk that makes an edible fruit called monkey bread

is the everyday descriptive name rather than the scientific form

Surface Forms

monkey-bread tree singular
monkey-bread trees plural

Morphology

monkey-bread + tree

The headword ends in 'tree', so a B1 learner who knows 'tree' will readily infer this is a type of tree; however the internal compound 'monkey-bread' is lexicalized and not transparently compositional from 'monkey' + 'bread'. Learners can partially infer that it refers to a tree associated with a fruit called 'monkey-bread' (perhaps eaten by monkeys or bread-like), but they are unlikely to deduce the specific referent (baobab) without prior exposure.

Etymology

Monkey-bread tree may come from a simple picture: the African baobab makes large, soft fruit that animals like monkey and people eat, and the fruit was compared to a kind of bread. That's why the name now refers to the big tree and its edible fruit.