Advertisement

avocado (n.)

edible, oily fruit of a tree common in the American tropics, 1763, from Spanish avocado, altered (by folk etymology influence of earlier Spanish avocado "lawyer," from same Latin source as advocate (n.)) from earlier aguacate, from Nahuatl (Aztecan) ahuakatl "avocado" (with a secondary meaning "testicle" probably based on resemblance), from proto-Nahuan *pawa "avocado." As a color-name, first attested 1945. The English corruption alligator (pear) is 1763, from Mexican Spanish alvacata, alligato.

Origin and meaning of avocado

Others are reading

Advertisement
Definitions of avocado from WordNet
1
avocado (n.)
a pear-shaped tropical fruit with green or blackish skin and rich yellowish pulp enclosing a single large seed;
Synonyms: alligator pear / avocado pear / aguacate
avocado (n.)
tropical American tree bearing large pulpy green fruits;
Synonyms: avocado tree / Persea Americana
2
avocado (adj.)
of the dull yellowish green of the meat of an avocado;
From wordnet.princeton.edu