melon
English
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈmɛlən/
Audio (US) (file) Audio (AU) (file) - Rhymes: -ɛlən
Etymology 1
From Middle English meloun, melon, from Old French melon, from Late Latin melonem, from Latin melopeponem (“type of pumpkin”), from Ancient Greek μηλοπέπων (mēlopépōn), from μῆλον (mêlon, “apple”) + πέπων (pépōn, “ripe”).
Noun
melon (countable and uncountable, plural melons)
- (countable) Any of various plants of the family Cucurbitaceae grown for food, generally not including the cucumber.
- Genus Cucumis, various musk melons, including honeydew, cantaloupes, and horned melon.
- Genus Citrullus, watermelons and others
- Genus Benincasa, a winter melon
- Genus Momordica, a bitter melon
- (uncountable) Fruit of such plants.
- (uncountable) A light pinkish orange colour, like that of some melon flesh.
- melon:
- (usually in the plural, slang) Breasts.
- 2013, K. L. Brady, Got a Right to Be Wrong, page 107:
- “Wait a minute.” I said. “James with another woman? Mommy, that doesn't even sound right?” “It's true. I caught him squeezing her melons.”
- 1958, Thomas Berger, Crazy in Berlin:
- She indicated her left melon, underneath which lay the heart. “Because you stuck with me, and whether you ever said it or not, that is love.”
-
- (countable, slang) The head.
- Think! Use your melon!
- (countable, Australia, New Zealand, derogatory) A member of the Green Party, or similar environmental group.
- (countable) A mass of adipose tissue found in the forehead of all toothed whales, used to focus and modulate vocalizations.
Hypernyms
Hyponyms
Translations
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Adjective
melon
- Of a light pinkish orange colour, like that of melon flesh.
Translations
See also
- calabash
- cantaloupe
- casaba
- crenshaw
- melinite
- spanspek
- Appendix:Colors
Etymology 2
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Alternative forms
Noun
melon (uncountable)
- (chemistry) The result of heptazine being polymerized with the tri-s-triazine units linked through an amine (NH) link.
Danish
Declension
common gender |
Singular | Plural | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
indefinite | definite | indefinite | definite | |
nominative | melon | melonen | meloner | melonerne |
genitive | melons | melonens | meloners | melonernes |
Derived terms
- honningmelon
- vandmelon
References
- “melon” in Den Danske Ordbog
Esperanto
Finnish
French
Etymology
From Old French melon, from Late Latin mēlō, mēlōnem, shortening of Latin mēlopepō, from Ancient Greek μηλοπέπων (mēlopépōn, “melon”). More at English melon.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /mə.lɔ̃/
Audio (file)
Derived terms
Further reading
- “melon”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Indonesian
Norwegian Nynorsk
References
- “melon” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
Old French
Etymology
From Late Latin mēlō, mēlōnem, shortening of Latin mēlopepō, from Ancient Greek μηλοπέπων (mēlopépōn, “melon”).
Polish

Etymology
Borrowed from Latin mēlō, mēlōnis, from Ancient Greek μῆλον, μηλοπέπων (mêlon, mēlopépōn).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈmɛ.lɔn/
Audio (file) - Rhymes: -ɛlɔn
- Syllabification: me‧lon
- Homophone: Melon
Noun
melon m inan (diminutive melonik)
- melon (any plant of the family Cucurbitaceae)
- melon (fruit)
- (colloquial, humorous) female breast
- Synonym: balon
- (colloquial) one million big ones (one million of any currency, especially PLN)
- Synonyms: bańka, duża bańka
- (cetology) melon (mass of adipose tissue found in the forehead of all toothed whales)
Declension
Related terms
- melonowcowaty
Romanian
Declension
singular | plural | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
indefinite articulation | definite articulation | indefinite articulation | definite articulation | |
nominative/accusative | (un) melon | melonul | (niște) meloane | meloanele |
genitive/dative | (unui) melon | melonului | (unor) meloane | meloanelor |
vocative | melonule | meloanelor |
Swedish
Etymology
From Italian melone, from Late Latin mēlō, mēlōnem.
Declension
Declension of melon | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Singular | Plural | |||
Indefinite | Definite | Indefinite | Definite | |
Nominative | melon | melonen | meloner | melonerna |
Genitive | melons | melonens | meloners | melonernas |
Derived terms
- Galiamelon
- honungsmelon
- matmelon
- nätmelon
- sockermelon
- stenmelon
- vattenmelon
Welsh
Alternative forms
- melwn
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈmɛlɔn/
Mutation
Welsh mutation | |||
---|---|---|---|
radical | soft | nasal | aspirate |
melon | felon | unchanged | unchanged |
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs. |
Further reading
- R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “melon”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies