pawpaw

[paw-paw]

noun

a tree, Asimina triloba, of the annona family, native to the eastern U.S., having large, oblong leaves and purplish flowers.
the fleshy, edible fruit of this tree.
papaya.

Also papaw.

Origin of pawpaw

unexplained variant of papaye papaya

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for pawpaw

Historical Examples of pawpaw

The horse chestnut, the pawpaw, the grape, and the willow are in bloom.
Afloat on the Ohio
Reuben Gold Thwaites
Cleave returned to Tullius and the small fire by the pawpaw bushes.
The Long Roll
Mary Johnston
He lay quiet for awhile, and then he parted the pawpaw bushes and crept out.
The Long Roll
Mary Johnston
Does anyone know for sure how to get pawpaw seed to germinate?
Northern Nut Growers Association Thirty-Fourth Annual Report 1943
Various
On reaching the root of the pawpaw, it stopped for a moment, as if to consider.
The Desert Home
Mayne Reid

British Dictionary definitions for pawpaw

pawpaw

noun

a variant of papaw, papaya

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 pawpaw

see papaw.