greengage
Americannoun
noun
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a cultivated variety of plum tree, Prunus domestica italica, with edible green plumlike fruits
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the fruit of this tree
Etymology
Origin of greengage
1715–25; green + Gage, after Sir William Gage, 18th-century English botanist who introduced such varieties from France circa 1725
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He once wrote about asking for the local guava jelly in one of Trinidad's intellectual clubs, only to be told that they only had English greengage jam.
From Time Magazine Archive
My mother’s wedding ring is in that greengage plum next to the banana, and aunt Sophia Babcock’s is in that damson, a little below to the right.
From Ainslee's, Vol. 15, No. 6, July 1905 by Various
A plum or greengage would cost three shillings; cherries and grapes about five, I believe, but this is at some of the dearest shops.
From Jane Austen, Her Life and Letters A Family Record by William Austen-Leigh
No apricot Or greengage tart my heart hath won; Their sweetness doth but cloy and clot.
From The Wallypug in London by Alan Wright
My best plum was the greengage, rather a shy bearer but always in demand.
From Grain and Chaff from an English Manor by Arthur H. Savory
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