MELON • FREE TRANSLATOR.ORG • Definition of Melon

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/mˈɛlən/ Listen

noun

Melon n.

(Bot.) The juicy fruit of certain cucurbitaceous plants, as the muskmelon, watermelon, and citron melon; also, the plant that produces the fruit.

(Zool.) A large, ornamental, marine, univalve shell of the genus Melo.

Melon beetle (Zool.), 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. Melocactus 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.

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Etymology of 'Melon'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Melon" Quotes from Famous Books

... "Take some melon, Mr. Mudge," said we, as with a sudden bolt we recovered our speech and took another slice ourself. "No, I thank you," replied Mr. Mudge, "I wouldn't choose ...

— The Book of Anecdotes and Budget of Fun; • Various

... to set up in their temples the image of the Emperor. "But at the same time they are willing," he says, "to pay honors to great men and to offer sacrifices in their name." He deals also, in a digression, with calumnies derived from Posidonius and Melon about the worship of an ass in the sanctuary ...

— Josephus • Norman Bentwich

... appearance, not as a desert, but by way of hors d'oeuvres, or whets, as radishes are served betwixt more substantial dishes in France and Italy; but it must be observed, that the turnips of this country are as much superior in sweetness, delicacy, and flavour, to those in England, as a musk-melon is to the stock of a common cabbage. They are small and conical, of a yellowish colour, with a very thin skin and, over and above their agreeable taste, are valuable for their antiscorbutic quality — As to the ...

— The Expedition of Humphry Clinker • Tobias Smollett

... bought a melon the other day When ma was 'tending a Red Cross tea. I wanted it awful bad.... Anyway It wasn't so big—just right for me— And then, just to keep from wasting a drop, I ate it all up!... Our colored Liz Says Pa told the doctor, "My fault, ...

— With the Colors - Songs of the American Service • Everard Jack Appleton

... as minestrone, chowder, petite marmite or pot au feu; roast chicken or duck with stuffing and gravy; candied sweet potatoes; green peas; 2 rolls or bread; 1 square butter; raw fruit, honey-dew melon or ...

— The Art of Stage Dancing - The Story of a Beautiful and Profitable Profession • Ned Wayburn

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