greengage

American  

[green-geyj] / ˈgrinˌgeɪdʒ /

noun

1. any of several varieties of light-green plums, as Prunus insititia italica.

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greengage British  

/ ˈɡriːnˌɡeɪdʒ /

noun

1. a cultivated variety of plum tree, Prunus domestica italica, with edible green plumlike fruits

2. the fruit of this tree

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Etymology

Origin of greengage

1715–25; green + Gage, after Sir William Gage, 18th-century English botanist who introduced such varieties from France circa 1725

Example Sentences

He once wrote about asking for the local guava jelly in one of Trinidad's intellectual clubs, only to be told that they only had English greengage jam.

From Time Magazine Archive

Roll the paste out thin; put half of it on a baking sheet or tin, and spread equally over it apricot, greengage, or any preserve that may be preferred.

From The Whitehouse Cookbook (1887) Cooking, Toilet and Household Recipes, Menus, Dinner-Giving, Table Etiquette, Care of the Sick, Health Suggestions, Facts Worth Knowing, Etc., Etc. The Whole Comprising a Comprehensive Cyclopedia of Information for the Home by Gillette, F. L. (Fanny Lemira)

Sometimes a little lemon-juice can be added with advantage, and in the case of cherry ice and greengage ice a little noyeau added is an improvement.

From Cassell's Vegetarian Cookery A Manual of Cheap and Wholesome Diet by Payne, A. G.

The guava and the katumbill� are certainly very numerous throughout the Ouva district; the latter being a dark red, rough-skinned kind of plum, the size of a greengage, but free from stone.

From Eight Years' Wanderings in Ceylon by Baker, Samuel White, Sir

One pint of greengage plums, after being rubbed through a sieve, one large cup of sugar, the yolks of two eggs well beaten.

From The Whitehouse Cookbook (1887) Cooking, Toilet and Household Recipes, Menus, Dinner-Giving, Table Etiquette, Care of the Sick, Health Suggestions, Facts Worth Knowing, Etc., Etc. The Whole Comprising a Comprehensive Cyclopedia of Information for the Home by Gillette, F. L. (Fanny Lemira)