pineapple

American  

[pahy-nap-uhl] / ˈpaɪˌnæp əl /

noun

pineapples plural

1. the edible, juicy, collective fruit of a tropical, bromeliaceous plant, Ananas comosus, that develops from a spike or head of flowers and is surmounted by a crown of leaves.

2. the plant itself, having a short stem and rigid, spiny-margined, recurved leaves.

3. Military Slang. a fragmentation hand grenade.

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pineapple British  

/ ˈpaɪnˌæpəl /

noun

1. a tropical American bromeliaceous plant, Ananas comosus, cultivated in the tropics for its large fleshy edible fruit

2. the fruit of this plant, consisting of an inflorescence clustered around a fleshy axis and surmounted by a tuft of leaves

3. slang military a hand grenade

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• pineapples
  plural

Etymology

Origin of pineapple

1350–1400 for earlier sense; 1655–65 pineapple for def. 1; Middle English pinappel pine cone; see pine ¹, apple

Explanation

A pineapple is a sweet tropical fruit with a tough leathery skin and spiky leaves on top. Pineapple is excellent, whether eaten as a snack, in a sweet dessert, in savory dishes like fried rice, or even on pizza. The word pineapple was first used to mean "pine cone," and the fruit was given this name because of its (slight) resemblance to a large pine cone. Pineapples are more commonly called ananas in other parts of the world, from the Tupi nanas, or "excellent fruit." Images of pineapples are commonly used to represent hospitality.

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