drupe

[ droop ]

noun

, Botany.

1. any fruit, as a peach, cherry, plum, etc., consisting of an outer skin, a usually pulpy and succulent middle layer, and a hard and woody inner shell usually enclosing a single seed.

drupe

/ druːp; druːˈpeɪʃəs /

noun

1. an indehiscent fruit consisting of outer epicarp, fleshy or fibrous mesocarp, and stony endocarp enclosing a single seed, as in the peach, plum, and cherry

drupe

/ dro̅o̅p /

1. A simple fruit derived from a single carpel. A drupe usually contains a single seed enclosed by a hardened endocarp, which often adheres closely to the seed within. In peaches, plums, cherries, and olives, a fleshy edible mesocarp surrounds the endocarp (the pit or stone). In the coconut, a fibrous mesocarp (the husk) surrounds the endocarp (the shell), while the white edible portion is the endosperm.
2. Compare berrySee more at simple fruit

Derived Forms

• drupaceous, adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of drupe¹

First recorded in 1745–55; from Latin drūpa, druppa “wrinkled olive, overripe olive,” from Greek drýppa “olive”

Word History and Origins

Origin of drupe¹

C18: from Latin druppa wrinkled overripe olive, from Greek: olive

Example Sentences

The inside of cherry pits and other drupes like peaches and plums do indeed contain a chemical called amygdalin, which when ingested, is converted to cyanide.

From Salon

First, there are those cashews, which are not nuts at all but technically fruit; they’re the drupe seeds that extend under the apple of the cashew tree.

From Washington Post

The ripe, oval drupes had fallen from buriti palms — also known as swamp palms — that live where the ground is waterlogged.

From Washington Post

Though sometimes referred to as a berry, the fruit of Piper nigrum is a drupe, as are stone fruits, meaning that it consists of a seed in the center surrounded by a layer of flesh.

From Washington Post

So called for the singular pit or stone at the center — which houses a seed inside — stone fruit, also known as drupes, are generally in season late May through early October in the United States.

From Seattle Times

Related Words

• berry
• crop
• grain
• nut
• produce
• product