Eggplant

Pronunciation

Alternative forms

• egg-plant

Origin

From egg + plant, originally applied only to the white-colored variety.

Full definition of eggplant

Noun

1. The plant Solanum melongena.
2. The edible fruit of the Solanum melongena: an aubergine.
3. A dark purple color, like that of the skin of this fruit.
4. (slang, derogatory, offensive) A black person (used mainly by Italian-Americans).
• 2004, Wendy Coakley-Thompson, Back to Life:"Why am I not surprised?" This was the limit. "You know, I'm black enough for his family to yell eggplant-this and nigger-that at me," she said.
• 2006, Jerome Charyn, Raised by wolves: the turbulent art and times of Quentin TarantinoWhat else can he do? But Hopper continues his riff. "Sicilians still carry that nigger gene . . . Your ancestors are niggers. You're part eggplant."

Synonyms

• (the plant or its fruit) aubergine UK, brinjal India, Malaysia, baingan India, brown jolly West Indes, dated
• (the fruit) melongene UK