greengage

American  

[green-geyj] / ˈgrinˌgeɪdʒ /

noun

1. any of several varieties of light-green plums, as Prunus insititia italica.

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greengage British  

/ ˈɡriːnˌɡeɪdʒ /

noun

1. a cultivated variety of plum tree, Prunus domestica italica, with edible green plumlike fruits

2. the fruit of this tree

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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

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

But still he called for some greengage tart.

From Kept in the Dark by Trollope, Anthony

The pits of greengage plums they cracked between their teeth for the kernels inside. 

From The People of the Abyss by London, Jack

She held up her hand for a catch, and with resignation he threw her another greengage.

From Roden's Corner by Merriman, Henry Seton