Jamun

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A dark purple tropical fruit that is sweet and juicy, often consumed fresh or included in recipes
2. A tree from the Myrtaceae family that yields this fruit, typically located in subtropical climates
3. A small, dark purple fruit with a sweet flavor commonly eaten fresh or used in culinary dishes ; a tree from the Myrtaceae family native to subtropical regions that bears this fruit

Etymology: The jamun is a dark purple, plum-sized fruit from South Asia, and the tree that bears it belongs to the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Its English name is a loan from Hindi, where the fruit is called "jāmun" (जामुन), so the word travelled into English from the Indian subcontinent rather than through the classical languages that supply most botanical vocabulary. The Hindi term is itself the name of the fruit and tree in the languages of the region, and English speakers adopted it in the period of British contact with India, when European botanists and colonial residents were recording local plants. Because the tree grows in subtropical climates, the name stayed attached to the tree as well as its fruit, which is why the English word now covers both.