mango

Meanings

Noun

• A tropical Asian fruit tree, Mangifera indica (species).
• The fruit of the mango tree.
• A pickled vegetable or fruit with a spicy stuffing; a vegetable or fruit which has been mangoed.
• A green bell pepper suitable for pickling.
• A type of muskmelon, Cucumis melo.
• Any of various hummingbirds of the genus Anthracothorax.
• A yellow-orange color, like that of mango flesh.

Verb

• To stuff and pickle (a fruit).

Related

Broader meaning words

• fruit tree, tree
• fruit, stone fruit, tropical fruit

Origin

• From Portuguese manga, from Malay mangga. First used for the fruit as early as the 1580s and the tree by the 1670s. Ultimately from a Dravidian language (reconstructed Proto-Dravidian *maṯ-kāy, a compound of *mā-m + *kāy); Oxford English Dictionary says it ultimately stems from Malayalam മാങ്ങ (മാവ് + കായ), while the Online Etymology Dictionary points to Tamil மாங்காய் (மா + காய்). The etymology of the -o ending is not certain.