Indian fig

noun

1. a bushy or treelike cactus, Opuntia ficus-indica, of central Mexico, having large yellow flowers and juicy, red, edible fruit.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Indian fig¹

First recorded in 1585–95

Example Sentences

This is clearest above Zafferana, where you’ll find an empty summer home, a van selling pistachio cream and Indian fig honey, and a blanket of black lava that coats the woodland like paint.

From The Guardian

And, always, winter’s fog and mist, one of Nepal’s seasonally distinct languages, shrouding the shrines in Pashupatinath, one of the world’s holiest Shiva temples, or cloaking a farmer by the valley’s sacred Indian fig trees.

From New York Times

Deep in the night the massy locust sheds, Quench my hot limbs; or lead me through the maze, Embowering, endless, of the Indian fig; Or thrown at gayer ease, on some fair brow, Let me behold, by breezy murmurs cool'd, Broad o'er my head the verdant cedar wave, And high palmettos lift their graceful shade.

From Project Gutenberg

The Indian fig tree, if on the east side of a house, is always auspicious; so also is the Udumvava tree if on the west, and the pipul if on the south, &c.

From Project Gutenberg

Trees have frequently been identified with gods: thus in the Panma Purána, the religious fig tree is an incarnation of Vishnu, the Indian fig tree of Rudra, and the Palasa of Brahma.

From Project Gutenberg