Feijoa

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /feɪˈʒoʊ.ə/

Definitions

1. A tropical fruit characterized by its aromatic sweetness and a flavor likened to both guava and pineapple
2. An edible berry from South America known for its distinct taste and unique gritty texture when fully mature
3. A fruit native to South America that features a sweet, fragrant flavor and a texture that can be described as gritty and grainy when ripe

Etymology: The fruit takes its name from a man who never saw it. Otto Karl Berg, a German botanist, gave the plant its scientific genus name in honour of João da Silva Feijó, a Portuguese naturalist who had worked in Brazil and Portugal's overseas territories. Berg's Latinised form, "Feijoa", was later adopted as the common name for the fruit, so the English word is a direct borrowing of a New Latin botanical label rather than a traditional fruit name. That makes the word a clear case of an eponym: a common noun built from a person's surname. The plant itself is native to parts of South America, and the fruit's name carries no trace of its native languages, only the Portuguese surname of a scholar honoured by a German scientist writing in Latin.