aubergine

[ oh-ber-zheen, -jeen, oh-ber-; oh-ber-zheen, -jeen, oh-ber- ]

noun
  1. Chiefly British. eggplant.

  2. a dark purplish color.

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Origin of aubergine

1
First recorded in 1785–95; from French, from Catalan albargínia, from Arabic al “the” + bādhinjān “eggplant,” from Persian bādingān, perhaps from Indo-Aryan; compare Sanskrit vātiṅgaṇaḥ

Words Nearby aubergine

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use aubergine in a sentence

  • The armour is in green with yellow edgings, belt, &c.; the under-garments in aubergine, and black boots.

    Chats on Oriental China | J. F. Blacker
  • Three colours:—green, a curious shade; yellow, varying from pale to bright; aubergine, also varying in tone.

    Chats on Oriental China | J. F. Blacker

British Dictionary definitions for aubergine

aubergine

/ (ˈəʊbəˌʒiːn) /


noun
  1. a tropical Old World solanaceous plant, Solanum melongena, widely cultivated for its egg-shaped typically dark purple fruit: US, Canadian, and Australian name: eggplant

  2. the fruit of this plant, which is cooked and eaten as a vegetable

    • a dark purple colour

    • (as adjective): an aubergine dress

Origin of aubergine

1
C18: from French, from Catalan alberginia, from Arabic al-bādindjān, ultimately from Sanskrit vatin-ganah, of obscure origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012