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litchi

or lee·chee, li·chee, ly·chee

[lee-chee]
noun, plural li·tchis.
  1. the fruit of a Chinese tree, Litchi chinensis, of the soapberry family, consisting of a thin, brittle shell enclosing a sweet, jellylike pulp and a single seed.
  2. the tree itself.

Origin of litchi

1580–90; < New Latin < Chinese lìzhi (lì ‘scallion’ + zhī ‘branch’)
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for lichee

Historical Examples of lichee

  • The seed resembles the lichee, and the fruit, which ripens in the ninth month of the year, suggests a resemblance to the Swastika.

    The Swastika

    Thomas Wilson

British Dictionary definitions for lichee

lichee

noun
  1. a variant spelling of litchi

litchi

lichee, lichi or lychee

noun
  1. a Chinese sapindaceous tree, Litchi chinensis, cultivated for its round edible fruits
  2. the fruit of this tree, which has a whitish juicy edible aril

Word Origin for litchi

C16: from Cantonese lai chi
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012