Bilimbis

Part of speech: INVALID

Definitions

1. A term referring to a type of fruit tree found in tropical regions, sometimes also used to describe the small tart and edible yellow or green fruits it produces ; can refer to certain regional culinary ingredients
2. Used as a name for a species of tree known for yielding sharply sour fruits ; occasionally denotes the fruits themselves, which are common in tropical cuisines ; can signify specific cooking elements in some cultures
3. Indicates a tropical tree appreciated for its acidic, edible produce ; also employed to mean the tangy fruit borne by this plant ; in regional dishes, may serve to identify an ingredient made from its fruit

Etymology: "Bilimbis" is the plural form of "bilimbi," a tropical fruit whose name comes from the Malay "belimbing," meaning "star fruit." The tree that bears it was named by botanists as "Averrhoa bilimbi," so the Malay word passed into scientific Latin and then into English as a botanical label. The fruit is a close relative of the carambola, or star fruit, which explains why the Malay name for one fits the other: both are members of the same genus, and both are sour, ridged, and tropical.