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Melon - Dictionary Definition and Overview |
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Melon : (noun)
1: any of numerous fruits of the gourd family having a hard
rind and sweet juicy flesh
2: any of various fruit of cucurbitaceous vines including:
muskmelons; watermelons; cantaloupes; cucumbers [syn: melon
vine]
Based on WordNet 2.0
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Melon : \Mel"on\, n. [F., fr. L. melo, for melopepo an
apple-shaped melon, Gr. ?; ? apple _ ? a species of large
melon; cf. L. malum apple. Cf. Marmalade.]
1. (Bot.) The juicy fruit of certain cucurbitaceous plants,
as the muskmelon, watermelon, and citron melon; also, the
plant that produces the fruit.
2. (Zo["o]l.) A large, ornamental, marine, univalve shell of
the genus Melo.
Melon beetle (Zo["o]l.), a small leaf beetle ({Diabrotiea
vittata), which damages the leaves of melon vines.
Melon cactus, Melon thistle.
(a) (Bot.) A genus of cactaceous plants ({Melocactus)
having a fleshy and usually globose stem with the
surface divided into spiny longitudinal ridges, and
bearing at the top a prickly and woolly crown in which
the small pink flowers are half concealed. M.
communis, from the West Indies, is often cultivated,
and sometimes called Turk's cap.
(b) The related genus Mamillaria, in which the stem is
tubercled rather than ribbed, and the flowers
sometimes large. See Illust. under Cactus.
Based on WordNet (r) 2.0 (August 2003)
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