Pomologists

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A person who specializes in the cultivation and study of fruit varieties
2. An expert in the science of fruit growing, focusing on techniques for breeding and managing fruit-bearing plants
3. Someone dedicated to researching and improving fruits through agricultural practices and genetic methods

Etymology: Pomologists are the plural of "pomologist", and the word is built from two parts. "Pomology" comes from Latin "pomum", meaning fruit, combined with the Greek-derived suffix "-logy", meaning the study of something. The suffix "-ist" then names a person who practises that study, so a pomologist is someone who studies fruit, and in practice someone who grows, breeds and classifies it. The first element, "pomum", is the root that also gives English words like "pome", the botanical name for an apple-type fruit with a core, and it is the source of the older "pomace", the pulp left after fruit is pressed. The word therefore sits in a family of fruit terms that have little else in common with modern vocabulary.