Papaya

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  papaya \pa*pa"ya\, n. [Prob. from the native name in the West
     Indies; cf. Sp. papayo papaw, papaya the fruit of the papaw.]
     1. (Bot.) A tree ({Carica Papaya}) of tropical America,
        belonging to the order {Passiflore[ae]}; called also
        {papaw} and {pawpaw}. It has a soft, spongy stem, eighteen
        or twenty feet high, crowned with a tuft of large,


        long-stalked, palmately lobed leaves. The milky juice of
        the plant is said to have the property of making meat
        tender.
        [1913 Webster +PJC]
  
     2. The fruit of the papaya tree; it is a dull orange-colored,
        melon-shaped fruit, which is eaten both raw and cooked or
        pickled. The fruit contains {papain}, a protease.
        [1913 Webster + PJC]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  papaya
       n 1: tropical American shrub or small tree having huge deeply
            palmately cleft leaves and large oblong yellow fruit
            [syn: {papaia}, {pawpaw}, {papaya tree}, {melon tree}, {Carica
            papaya}]
       2: large oval melon-like tropical fruit with yellowish flesh