genipap

American  

[jen-uh-pap] / ˈdʒɛn əˌpæp /

noun

1. a tropical American tree, Genipa americana, of the madder family, bearing an edible fruit used for preserves or in making beverages.

2. the fruit itself.

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genipap British  

/ ˈdʒɛnɪˌpæp /

noun

1. an evergreen Caribbean rubiaceous tree, Genipa americana, with reddish-brown edible orange-like fruits

2. the fruit of this tree

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Etymology

Origin of genipap

1605–15; < Portuguese genipapo < Tupi ianipaba

Example Sentences

On the second to last day of the Wyra’whaw ritual, mothers painted their children’s bodies with the juice of the genipap fruit.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 13, 2023

Many of them were unclothed, and some had adorned their bodies with exquisite ornamentations: monkey-tooth necklaces; swirls of black pigment from the genipap fruit; swaths of red pigment from the uruku berry.

From The New Yorker • Sep. 12, 2005

Genipa americana.—This belongs to the cinchona family, and produces the fruit called genipap or marmalade box.

From Catalogue of Economic Plants in the Collection of the U. S. Department of Agriculture by Saunders, William