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• clementine
  clementine

  noun

  a small, sweet variety of tangerine with orange-red skin.
• Clementine
  Clementine

  noun

  a female given name: derived from Clement.
• “Clementine”
  “Clementine”

  An American folksong (see folk music). Its refrain is:

  Oh my darling, oh my darling,

  Oh my darling Clementine!

  You are lost and gone forever,

  Dreadful sorry, Clementine.

  (See also forty-niners.)

clementine

¹ American  

[klem-uhn-tahyn, -teen] / ˈklɛm ənˌtaɪn, -ˌtin /

noun

clementines plural

1. a small, sweet variety of tangerine with orange-red skin.

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Clementine ² American  

[klem-uhn-tahyn, -teen, kle-mahn-teen] / ˈklɛm ənˌtaɪn, -ˌtin, klɛ mɑ̃ˈtin /

Also Clementina

noun

1. a female given name: derived from Clement.

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clementine British  

/ -ˌtaɪn, ˈklɛmənˌtiːn /

noun

1. a citrus fruit thought to be either a variety of tangerine or a hybrid between a tangerine and sweet orange

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“Clementine” Cultural  

1. An American folksong (see folk music). Its refrain is:

   Oh my darling, oh my darling,

   Oh my darling Clementine!

   You are lost and gone forever,

   Dreadful sorry, Clementine.

   (See also forty-niners.)

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• clementines
  plural

Etymology

Origin of clementine

< French clémentine (1902), said to be named after a Father Clément, who developed the fruit near Oran; see -ine ¹

Explanation

A clementine is a small, orange, seedless citrus fruit. Clementines are usually easy to peel and section, and they taste very sweet. Clementines are a deep orange-colored hybrid fruit, a combination of the mandarin and the sweet orange, similar in size to a tangerine. The history of the clementine includes what was probably an accidental invention, and an introduction to California in 1914. The inadvertent inventor of the clementine was Father Clément Rodier, who ran an Algerian orphanage, and for whom the fruit was named.

Example Sentences

It is the result of “just streamlining these workflows and knitting someone’s journey together end to end,” says Clementine Jacoby, chief executive officer of Recidiviz.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 18, 2026

A 1940s folk painting by Clementine Hunter radiates relaxation, its central man unwinding with a drink, his feet kicked up on a stump.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 1, 2026

"For the average consumer, it is impossible to understand that TotalEnergies is actually expanding fossil fuel production," Clementine Baldon, a lawyer for the NGOs, said at a hearing in June.

From Barron's • Oct. 21, 2025

And then there’s Clementine, who was “a little anxious” before the fire, and more so ever since.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 14, 2025

Clementine, still talking to her nails, says, “Should we call you The Ax? Or maybe just Ax? Ooooo.”

From "I'll Give You the Sun" by Jandy Nelson