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plum
plum (fruit of) tree of the genus Prunus OE.; dried grape or raisin (as in p. pudding) XVII. OE. plūme, corr. to MLG. plūme, MHG. pflūme (G. pflaume; in OHG. pflūmo plum-tree), ON. plóma (perh. — OE.), with by-forms (M)LG., MDu. prūme (Du. pruim), OHG. pfrūma — medL. prūna (see PRUNE), orig. pl. of L. prūnum plum (cf. prūnus plum-tree), parallel to Gr. proûmnon plum. The shortening of the vowel appears XIV in the sp. plumbe.
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T. F. HOAD. "plum." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "plum." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-plum.html T. F. HOAD. "plum." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-plum.html |
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plum
plum Fruit of numerous species of Prunus. Common European plums are P. domestica; blackthorn or sloe is P. spinosa; bullace is P. insititia; damson is P. damascena; gages are P. italica; beach plum is a wild plum, Prunus maritime. The UK National Fruit Collection contains 336 varieties of plum. A 200‐g portion of dessert plums (four medium‐size fruits weighed without stones) is a source of vitamin C; provides 3 g of dietary fibre; supplies 100 kcal (420 kJ).
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DAVID A. BENDER. "plum." A Dictionary of Food and Nutrition. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. DAVID A. BENDER. "plum." A Dictionary of Food and Nutrition. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O39-plum.html DAVID A. BENDER. "plum." A Dictionary of Food and Nutrition. 2005. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O39-plum.html |
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plum
plum / pləm/ • n. 1. an oval fleshy fruit that is purple, reddish, or yellow when ripe and contains a flattish pointed pit. 2. (also plum tree) the deciduous tree (genus Prunus) of the rose family that bears this fruit. 3. a reddish-purple color: [as adj.] a plum blazer. 4. [usu. as adj.] inf. a thing, typically a job, considered to be highly desirable: he landed a plum assignment. • adv. variant spelling of plumb1 . |
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"plum." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "plum." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-plum.html "plum." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-plum.html |
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plum
plum an oval fleshy fruit which is purple, reddish, or yellow when ripe; plum is also used for a reddish-purple colour.
Professor Plum is the name of one of the six stock characters constituting the murderer and suspects in the game of Cluedo. have a plum in one's mouth have an accent thought typical of the English upper classes. like a ripe plum used to convey that something can be obtained with little or no effort. See also a cherry year, a merry year; a plum year, a dumb year. |
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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "plum." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "plum." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-plum.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "plum." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-plum.html |
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plum
plum Fruit tree, mostly native to Asia and naturalized in Europe and North America, widely cultivated for its fleshy, edible fruit, which has a hard ‘stone’ at the centre. The most common cultivated plum of Europe and Asia is Prunus domestica; in North America, the Japanese plum (Prunus salicina) is crossed with European varieties to give several cultivated strains. Family Rosaceae.
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"plum." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "plum." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-plum.html "plum." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-plum.html |
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Plum
Plum borough (1990 pop. 25,609), Allegheny co., SW Pa. on the Allegheny River, in a bituminous coal area; founded 1788, inc. 1956. It is a residential suburb of Pittsburgh. Apples and nursery stock are grown and there is dairying. |
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"Plum." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Plum." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Plum.html "Plum." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Plum.html |
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plum
plum common name for a tree of any of many species of the genus Prunus of the family Rosaceae ( rose family) and for its fruit, a drupe. The plum is generally cultivated in the temperate zones, though among the numerous varieties and hybrids are types suitable for many soils and sites. Of the plum's more than 100 species 30 are native to North America. It has been cultivated since prehistoric times, longer perhaps than any other fruit except the apple. Alexander the Great is said to have introduced it into Greece from Syria or Persia, where the damson plum had long been grown. The name damson is now applied to several varieties of Prunus domestica, the common garden plum of European or SW Asian origin, e.g., P. domestica var. insititia and others having small leaves and small, oval fruits usually borne in clusters. The fruits are generally tart and are favored for preserves. The greengages and prune plums are also varieties of P. domestica. Populations of plum trees that grow in the wild usually revert to the damson type. In the United States the wild red plum ( P. americana ) is found along streams and in thickets from New York to the Rocky Mts. Its small, sweet fruit has a purple bloom. This plum was utilized by Native Americans, who ate it raw, cooked, and dried; when dried it was a staple article of diet. Plum butter is made from it. Another American variety is the beach plum, or shore plum ( P. maritima ), a low-growing shrub common along the eastern coast, especially on Cape Cod, where the gathering of fruit for jelly and preserves became a commercial project. Most of the cultivated plums in the United States are derived from European and Japanese varieties (e.g., P. salicina, introduced by Burbank into the United States from Japan in 1870), although some good ones have come from native species and are valuable in that they thrive in the extreme north and south. The myrobalan, or cherry plum ( P. cerasifera ), is often used as an understock in plum cultivation. The European plum may be an ancient natural hybrid of this and another Middle Eastern species. The typical plum tree is low and wide-spreading and is one of the earliest fruit trees to bloom. In Japan, where there are many famous plum gardens, the feathery blossoms are much used in decoration. The plum is also of ornamental value in the United States, many of the varieties so used having red or purple foliage and double white, pink, or lilac flowers. The plum is closely related to the almond, apricot, cherry, and other species of the genus Prunus; a number of apricot-plum hybrids, such as the plumcot, Pluot, and Aprium, have been developed. Plums are classified in the division Magnoliophyta , class Magnoliopsida, order Rosales, family Rosaceae. |
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Cite this article
"plum." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "plum." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-plum.html "plum." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-plum.html |
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plums
plums See PRUNUS.
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MICHAEL ALLABY. "plums." A Dictionary of Plant Sciences. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MICHAEL ALLABY. "plums." A Dictionary of Plant Sciences. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O7-plums.html MICHAEL ALLABY. "plums." A Dictionary of Plant Sciences. 1998. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O7-plums.html |
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plum
plum •become, benumb, Brum, bum, chum, come, crumb, cum, drum, dumb, glum, gum, ho-hum, hum, Kara Kum, lum, mum, numb, plum, plumb, Rhum, rhumb, rum, scrum, scum, slum, some, strum, stum, succumb, sum, swum, thrum, thumb, tum, yum-yum
•natatorium
•stumblebum • dumdum • bubblegum
•outcome • sugarplum • lanthanum
•kettledrum • breadcrumb • humdrum
•eardrum
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"plum." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "plum." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-plum.html "plum." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-plum.html |
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