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myrobalan plum

myrobalan plum

9.9
A small Asian tree that makes red or yellow plums you can eat
  • noun
  • /ˌmɪrəˈbælən plʌm/
translation icon : ciruela mirabolano
  • The myrobalan plum is commonly planted as an ornamental tree in city gardens.

Examples

  • She made a delicious jam from the ripe myrobalan plum harvested from her backyard.

  • I picked a myrobalan plum from the garden.

  • Some herbal medicines use extracts from the leaves and fruit of the myrobalan plum.

  • The myrobalan plum tree blooms beautifully in spring.

  • She made a delicious jam from the ripe myrobalan plum harvested from her backyard.

  • Some herbal medicines use extracts from the leaves and fruit of the myrobalan plum.

  • The myrobalan plum is commonly planted as an ornamental tree in city gardens.

Synonyms

Prunus cerasifera
vsmyrobalan plum
  • Specialized
8.8

A small tree that makes red or yellow fruit called cherry plum

refers to the same tree as an ornamental and fruit plant
cherry plum
vsmyrobalan plum
4.8

A small Asian tree that makes small round fruit like a cherry or plum

focuses on the tree grown for ornament or fruit rather than only the fruit
myrobalan
vsmyrobalan plum
9.9

A small Asian tree with red or yellow fruit used for food and medicine

emphasizes its use as an ornamental and fruit tree rather than medicinal use

Surface Forms

Morphology

myrobalan + plum

The meaning 'a type of plum associated with the myrobalan tree' is directly and literally derived from combining 'myrobalan' (a tree known for edible fruit) with 'plum' (the fruit). This noun–noun species/variety naming pattern is common and cross-linguistically transparent, so learners who know both constituents will readily infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Myrobalan plum comes from an old word myrobalan that may mean fruit kept as a 'preserve' or 'jam'. Because people used this small Asian plum for jams and simple 'medicine', the name came to mean the small tree and its fruit.