Pineapple

Pronunciation

• enPR: pīʹnăpÉ™l, IPA: /ˈpaɪnæpÉ™l/

Origin

From Middle English pinappel ("pinecone", literally pine-apple/pine-fruit), equivalent to pine + apple. Later applied to the fruit of the pineapple plant due to its resemblance to a pinecone. Compare the post-Classical Latin pomum pini, the Old French pume de pin, the Middle French and French pomme de pin, the Middle Dutch and Dutch pijnappel, the Middle Low German pinappel, the Old High German pīnapful, the Middle High German pīnaphel, and the early Modern German pinapfel — all in the sense of “pine cone”.

Full definition of pineapple

Noun

1. A tropical plant, Ananas comosus, native to South America, having thirty or more long, spined and pointed leaves surrounding a thick stem.
2. The ovoid fruit of the pineapple plant, which has very sweet white or yellow flesh, a tough, spiky shell and a tough, fibrous core.
3. (slang) A hand grenade.
4. (slang) An Australian fifty dollar note.
5. a hairstyle consisting of a ponytail worn on top of the head, imitating the leaves of a pineapple.

Synonyms

• (plant) ananas, pineapple plant
• (fruit) ananas
• (hand grenade) grenade, hand grenade

Derived terms

Related terms

• apple
• pine