Plum

views updated May 29 2018

PLUM

PLUM , the Prunus domestica, of which there are many different varieties. In modern Hebrew, the name shezif is applied to the plum, but erroneously, since the ancient name shezaf is the *jujube. A species of plum, Prunus ursina, grows wild in the groves of Upper Galilee and in Lebanon. It is a shrub or tree, somewhat prickly, producing small yellow tasty fruits. In Syriac it is called huha and in Arabic ḥoḥ. Some identify it with the "ḥo'aḥ in Lebanon," which in the parable of Jehoash is contrasted with the cedar of Lebanon, but the parable concludes that the wild beasts of Lebanon trod it down (ii Kings 14:9). It would therefore seem that a prickly weed is intended and not a tree, which is, in fact, the meaning of ḥo'aḥ in other passages in the Bible (see *Thistles and Thorns). In Greek and Roman literature a choice plum is referred to as damascena (δαμασκηνά which is also its name in modern Greek and in modern Arabic) because it originated from Damascus. In rabbinic literature it is found under the names dormaskin, dormaskenin, dormaskeniyyot, and is mentioned as a fruit which was mainly imported (Tosef., Dem. 1:9). It was regarded as good for sick people (bk 116b) and was served to important visitors (Ber. 39a). The parallel passage in the Jerusalem Talmud (Ber. 6:2, 10b end) has aḥvanita which is the Arabic for the plum.

bibliography:

Loew, Flora, 3 (1924), 163–9; Krauss, Tal Arch, 1 (1910), 488.

[Jehuda Feliks]

plum

views updated Jun 27 2018

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 .

plum

views updated May 09 2018

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.

plum

views updated May 14 2018

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.

plum

views updated May 21 2018

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.

plum

views updated May 23 2018

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).

plums

views updated May 29 2018

plums See PRUNUS.