melon

[mel-uh n]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR melon ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the fruit of any of various plants of the gourd family, as the muskmelon or watermelon.

medium crimson or deep pink.

the visible upper portion of the head of a surfacing whale or dolphin, including the beak, eyes, and blowhole.

Informal.

a large extra dividend, often in the form of stock, to be distributed to stockholders: Profits zoomed so in the last quarter that the corporation cut a nice melon.
any windfall of money to be divided among specified participants.

Origin of melon

1350–1400; Middle English < Late Latin mēlōn- (stem of mēlō), short for mēlopepō < Greek mēlopépōn apple-shaped melon, equivalent to mêlo(n) apple + pépōn pepo

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for melon

cantaloupe, gourd, papaya, watermelon, musk, casaba, honeydew, nutmeg, pepo

Examples from the Web for melon

Contemporary Examples of melon

But how could they bronze that stubby little body, the melon head, the double chin?
Richard Ben Cramer Dies: Iconic Writer Had an Unerring Ear for Dialogue
John Avlon
January 8, 2013
Rachel “Bunny” Melon wanted John to be the next president so he could “rescue America.”
Edwards Staffer Andrew Young Offers Shocking Testimony About His Boss
Diane Dimond
April 25, 2012
Trim trousers in nubby shades of lilac were paired with jackets in iridescent hues of melon.
Paris Fall 2012 Fashion Week: Haider Ackermann, Lanvin, and Comme des Garçons
Robin Givhan
March 4, 2012
Meanwhile he hid a note in a piece of melon and gave it to a young Jew.
'Jews Are God's People Like Us'
Norman H. Gershman
February 21, 2009

Historical Examples of melon

You can't always tell by the looks of a melon what's inside it, my son.
Old Man Curry
Charles E. (Charles Emmett) Van Loan
The melon capital was probably not in use after the sixth century.
Byzantine Churches in Constantinople
Alexander Van Millingen
You 'll send me a melon, at least, of my own raising, won't you?
Barrington
Charles James Lever
He had been reading an article on Nestorianism when the melon was brought in.
The Early Short Fiction of Edith Wharton, Part 1 (of 10)
Edith Wharton
There she stopped, and, turning, extended her hands for the melon.
Hooking Watermelons
Edward Bellamy

British Dictionary definitions for melon

melon

noun

any of several varieties of two cucurbitaceous vines, cultivated for their edible fruitSee muskmelon, watermelon

the fruit of any of these plants, which has a hard rind and juicy flesh

cut a melon US and Canadian slang to declare an abnormally high dividend to shareholders

Word Origin for melon

C14: via Old French from Late Latin mēlo, shortened form of mēlopepō, from Greek mēlopepōn, from mēlon apple + pepōn gourd

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

Word Origin and History for melon

late 14c., from Old French melon (13c.), from Medieval Latin melonem (nominative melo), from Latin melopeponem, a kind of pumpkin, from Greek melopepon "gourd-apple" (name for several kinds of gourds bearing sweet fruit), from melon "apple" (see malic) + pepon, a kind of gourd, probably noun use of pepon "ripe" (see pumpkin).

In Greek, melon was used in a generic way for all foreign fruits (cf. similar use of apple). The Greek plural of "melon" was used from ancient times for "a girl's breasts."