rose apple

noun

any of various tropical trees belonging to the genus Syzygium, of the myrtle family, especially S. jambos, of the East Indies, having showy, greenish-white flowers and oval, yellowish fruit.

the fragrant fruit of any of these trees, used in making jellies and confections.

Origin of rose apple

First recorded in 1620–30

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

Examples from the Web for rose apple

Historical Examples of rose apple

We filled ourselves with the juicy pink fruit of the “kavika,” or what is generally known as the Malacca or rose-apple.
Wanderings Among South Sea Savages And in Borneo and the Philippines
H. Wilfrid Walker
The small animals eat the fruit, and I tasted some, but it was not so good as the rose-apple; we called it the white-apple.
Voyage Of H.M.S. Rattlesnake, Vol. 2 (of 2)
John MacGillivray
The rose-apple grows on one of the most symmetrical trees in Cuba, with strong, oval, glossy leaves.
Due South or Cuba Past and Present
Maturin M. Ballou
But when the storm came and the thunder roared and the lightning flashed, the rose-apple tree was afraid and dared not look up.
The Magic Bed
Hartwell James
"Perhaps it is a star and not a diamond," said the rose-apple tree; but because of its brightness it could not tell which it was.
The Magic Bed
Hartwell James

British Dictionary definitions for rose apple

rose apple

noun

an ornamental myrtaceous tree, Syzygium jambos, of the East Indies, cultivated in the tropics for its edible fruit

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