lemon
English
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English lymon, from Old French lymon (“citrus”), from Arabic لَيْمُون (laymūn) or Persian لیمون (limon), from Persian لیمو (limu), from Sanskrit निम्बू (nimbū, “lime”), ultimately from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *limaw or Munda.[1] Likely doublet of lime.
The fandom sense is named after the erotic anime series Cream Lemon.[2]
Pronunciation
- enPR: lĕm'ən, IPA(key): /ˈlɛm.ən/
Audio (London): (file) Audio (New Jersey): (file)
- Rhymes: -ɛmən
- (US)
- (pin–pen merger) IPA(key): /ˈlɪm.ɪn/
Noun
lemon (plural lemons)
- A yellowish citrus fruit.
- A semitropical evergreen tree, Citrus limon, that bears such fruits.
- A more or less bright shade of yellow associated with lemon fruits.
- lemon flesh:
- lemon rind:
- A lemon shark (Negaprion brevirostris).
- (slang) A defective or inadequate item or individual.
- He didn’t realise until he’d paid for it that the car was a lemon.
- 1951, Herman Wouk, chapter 20, in The Caine Mutiny, page 243:
- “ […] the Navy's supposed to give me a ship that goes, and a captain that fights—— That's what all this muck is for, isn't it?”
“Look, it's an old story by now. We're stuck with a lemon. Misfortune of war. […] ”
- (Cockney rhyming slang, shortened from “lemon flavour”) Favor.
- A thousand quid for that motor? Do me a lemon! I could get it for half that.
- (fandom slang) A piece of fanfiction involving explicit sex.
- 2000 May 30, Ian Blakeman, “[Eva][FanFic][Lemon] A day at Misatos appartment[sic]”, in rec.arts.anime.creative[3] (Usenet):
- WARNING: This story is a lemon and must be viewed with great care. If you are either under the age of 18, think graphic sex is discussing[sic] or you know what my writing is like you should turn away now.
- (geometry) The surface of revolution of a circular arc of angle less than 180° rotated about the straight line passing through the arc’s two endpoints.
- Coordinate term: apple
Synonyms
Alternate forms
- limon (obsolete)
Hypernyms
Derived terms
- acid of lemon
- bitter lemon
- bush lemon (Citrus jhambiri)
- Canton lemon
- do me a lemon
- easy peasy lemon squeezy
- Ichang lemon (Citrus cavaleriei × Citrus maxima)
- lemonade
- lemon ant (Myrmelachista schumanni)
- lemon balm (Melissa officinalis)
- lemon bar
- lemon basil (Ocimum × citriodorum)
- lemon beebrush (Aloysia citrodora)
- lemon-bellied flycatcher (Microeca flavigaster)
- lemon-bellied flyrobin (Microeca flavigaster)
- lemon-belly
- lemon cheese
- lemon chicken
- lemon chiffon
- lemon chiffon pie
- lemon clover (Oxalis stricta)
- lemon curd
- lemon daylily (Hemerocallis lilioasphodelus var., syn. Hemerocallis flava var.)
- lemon drop
- lemon eucalyptus (Corymbia citriodora)
- lemon geranium (Pelargonium crispum)
- lemongrass, lemon grass (Cymbopogon spp., esp. Cymbopogon citratus)
- lemon juice
- lemon laundering
- lemon law
- lemon lily (Hemerocallis lilioasphodelus var., syn. Hemerocallis flava var.)
- lemon-lime, lemon lime
- lemon meringue
- lemon meringue pie
- lemon myrtle (Backhousia citriodora)
- lemon pepper
- lemon plait
- lemon shark (Microstomus kitt)
- lemon socialism
- lemon soda
- lemon sole (Microstomus kitt)
- lemon square
- lemon squash
- lemon-squeezer
- lemon squeezer
- lemon tea
- lemon thyme (Thymus spp.)
- lemon verbena, lemon vervain (Aloysia citrodora)
- lemon water
- lemony
- lemon yellow
- Meyer lemon (Citrus × meyeri)
- oil of lemon eucalyptus
- Philippine lemon
- ponderosa lemon (Citrus × pyriformis)
- rough lemon (Citrus jhambiri)
- salt of lemon
- sea lemon (Dorididae spp.; Ximenia americana)
- sit there like a lemon
- stand there like a lemon
- suck a lemon
- sweet lemon (Citrus hybrids)
- water lemon (Passiflora laurifolia)
Descendants
- → Kashubian: lemòna (Canada, United States)
Related terms
Translations
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
See also
Adjective
lemon (comparative more lemon, superlative most lemon)
- Containing or having the flavour/flavor and/or scent of lemons.
- Of the pale yellow colour/color of lemons.
- (Cockney rhyming slang, from "lemon tart") Smart; cheeky, vocal.
- 2009 October 12, Caitlin Moran, “Why I love paying tax”, in The Times:
- Obviously Emin is not the first public figure to get lemon over tax increases.
Translations
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Verb
lemon (third-person singular simple present lemons, present participle lemoning, simple past and past participle lemoned)
- (transitive) To flavour with lemon.
- You can start the vegetables cooking while you are lemoning the fish.
See also
References
- ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “lemon”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
- ^ Maria Lindgren Leavenworth & Malin Isaksson, Fanged Fan Fiction: Variations on Twilight, True Blood and The Vampire Diaries, page 118
Anagrams
Esperanto
Pronunciation
Noun
lemon
- accusative singular of lemo
Welsh
Alternative forms
Etymology
Pronunciation
Noun
lemon m (plural lemonau, not mutable)
Related terms
- lemonêd (“lemonade”)
Western Huasteca Nahuatl
Noun
lemon
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Old French
- English terms derived from Arabic
- English terms derived from Persian
- English terms derived from Sanskrit
- English terms derived from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian
- English terms derived from Munda languages
- English doublets
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- Rhymes:English/ɛmən
- Rhymes:English/ɛmən/2 syllables
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English terms with quotations
- English slang
- English terms with usage examples
- English fandom slang
- en:Geometry
- English adjectives
- English verbs
- English transitive verbs
- en:Citrus subfamily plants
- en:Erotic literature
- en:Fan fiction
- en:Fruits
- en:Yellows
- Esperanto terms with IPA pronunciation
- Rhymes:Esperanto/emon
- Esperanto non-lemma forms
- Esperanto noun forms
- Welsh terms derived from English
- Welsh terms with IPA pronunciation
- Welsh lemmas
- Welsh nouns
- Welsh countable nouns
- Welsh non-mutable terms
- Welsh masculine nouns
- cy:Fruits
- Western Huasteca Nahuatl lemmas
- Western Huasteca Nahuatl nouns
- nhw:Fruits