Japanese persimmon

American  

noun

1. the soft, orange or reddish, edible fruit of an Asian tree, Diospyros kaki.

2. the tree itself.

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Japanese persimmon British  

noun

1. Also called: kaki.  an Asian persimmon tree, Diospyros kaki, with red or orange edible fruit

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Etymology

Origin of Japanese persimmon

First recorded in 1905–10

Example Sentences

In many ways, the Grand Kabuki is a Japanese persimmon on a U.S. theatergoer's palate.

From Time Magazine Archive

I mention this as many of you are fruit growers also and want to get persimmon stock in order to graft the Japanese persimmon on.

From Northern Nut Growers Association, Report of the Proceedings at the Fourth Annual Meeting Washington D.C. November 18 and 19, 1913 by Northern Nut Growers Association

In southern California no garden is complete without a Japanese persimmon tree to give beauty by its cheerful, leathery, green leaves and its rich-colored fruits.

From Trees Worth Knowing by Rogers, Julia Ellen

For the hill-slope was covered with the gray-green of young olive trees, the dense, dark foliage of young oranges, and the stunted, scraggy boughs of the Japanese persimmon.

From Emerson's Wife and Other Western Stories by Kelly, Florence Finch

Here and there one sees the guava, the Japanese persimmon, Japanese plum, or some similar exotic—but grapes and oranges are the principal product.

From The California Birthday Book by Various