Where does “dragon fruit” come from?
dragon fruit (English) comes from English dragon, from English drag queen, from English Queen, from Middle English quene, from Old English cwene, from Old English cwēn, from Proto-West Germanic kwāni, from Proto-Germanic kwēniz — woman.
dragon fruit (English): The fruit of certain cacti of the genus (Stenocereus (syn. Hylocereus) spp.), cultivated in Southeast Asia and Central and South America, having cerise-pink- or yellow-coloured skin and a white or pink sweet fleshy interior with black seeds
Definitions
- The fruit of certain cacti of the genus (Stenocereus (syn. Hylocereus) spp.), cultivated in Southeast Asia and Central and South America, having cerise-pink- or yellow-coloured skin and a white or pink sweet fleshy interior with black seeds
Ancestry of “dragon fruit”, step by step
dragon fruit traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English dragon
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | dragon | A legendary serpentine or reptilian creature; An... |
| 2 | English | drag queen | A person, usually male, who dresses up in women's... |
| 3 | English | Queen | A title used before the personal name of a queen |
| 4 | Middle English | quene | A queen; Any powerful woman noble; A female... |
| 5 | Old English | cwene | a woman; inflection of cwēn: ##... |
| 6 | Old English | cwēn | queen; woman, wife, queen |
| 7 | Proto-West Germanic | kwāni | woman, wife |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | kwēniz | wife |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷḗn | woman |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷen- | woman |
via English fruit
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | fruit | In general, a product of plant growth useful to... |
| 2 | French | fruit | fruit |
| 3 | Middle French | fruict | fruit |
| 4 | Old French | fruit | fruit |
| 5 | Latin | frūctus | enjoyed; having derived pleasure from |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | δῶρον | gift; hand's width |
| 7 | Proto-Hellenic | dṓron | gift |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | déh₃rom | gift |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | deh₃- | to give |