kumquat

[ kuhm-kwot ]

noun
  1. a small, round or oblong citrus fruit having a sweet rind and acid pulp, used chiefly for preserves.

  2. any of several citrus shrubs of the genus Fortunella, native to China, that bear this fruit.

Origin of kumquat

1
First recorded in 1865–70; from dialectal Chinese (Guangdong) gāmgwāt “gold citrus fruit,” akin to Chinese jīnjù
  • Sometimes cum·quat .

Words Nearby kumquat

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How to use kumquat in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for kumquat

kumquat

cumquat

/ (ˈkʌmkwɒt) /


noun
  1. any of several small Chinese trees of the rutaceous genus Fortunella

  2. the small round orange fruit of such a tree, with a sweet rind, used in preserves and confections

Origin of kumquat

1
C17: from Chinese (Cantonese) kam kwat, representing Mandarin Chinese chin chü golden orange

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