pepino

American  

[puh-pee-noh] / pəˈpi noʊ /

noun

plural

pepinos

1. a rounded, cone-shaped hill in a karstic area.

2. Also called melon shrub.  Also called melon pear,.  a Peruvian plant, Solanum muricatum, of the nightshade family, having spiny foliage, bright blue flowers, and edible purple, egg-shaped fruit.

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Etymology

Origin of pepino

1895–1900; < Spanish: cucumber, ultimately < Latin pepō; see pepo, -ine ¹

Example Sentences

Vivien Bonzo, Consuelo’s granddaughter, worked in the restaurant as a teenager and for decades watched as her family’s restaurant became an institution where customers could get homemade tortillas, pepino margaritas and chile colorado.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 30, 2023

Charles Daniels, an 80-year-old retired lawn and garden shop owner, came with apples, sorrel and pepino dulce, a South American fruit that tastes like a blend of honeydew and cantaloupe.

From New York Times • Nov. 27, 2014

By the natives the pepino is, and not altogether unreasonably, believed to be injurious.

From Travels in Peru, on the Coast, in the Sierra, Across the Cordilleras and the Andes, into the Primeval Forests by Ross, Thomasina