eggplant

[ eg-plant, -plahnt ]

noun

1. a plant, Solanum melongena esculentum, of the nightshade family, cultivated for its edible, dark-purple or occasionally white or yellow fruit.
2. the fruit of this plant used as a table vegetable.
3. a blackish purple color; aubergine.

eggplant

/ ˈɛɡˌplɑːnt /

noun

1. a tropical Old World solanaceous plant, Solanum melongena, widely cultivated for its egg-shaped typically dark purple fruit
2. the fruit of this plant, which is cooked and eaten as a vegetable

Word History and Origins

Origin of eggplant¹

First recorded in 1760–70; egg ¹ + plant

Example Sentences

I used mine to cut a bouquet outside, deftly harvest some green beans, lemons and eggplants, and even cut finger-sized branches with ease.

From Los Angeles Times

The team experimented first with adding visual cues like googly eyes on irregular-looking eggplants, showing study participants pictures of normal or abnormal eggplants, either with or without googly eyes.

From Salon

Nor is it a juicy hunk of a beefsteak tomato or a pleasantly plump eggplant.

From Salon

The things I want to do with this eggplant emoji I literally can’t even say on this podcast.

From New York Times

It's a family that also includes some friendly crops such as tomatoes, potatoes, peppers and eggplants.

From Science Daily