medlar
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medlar
- /ˈmɛdlə/ UK
- /ˈmɛdlɚ/ US
- /ˈmedlɘ/ New Zealand
Sounds like meddler
Where it comes from
From Middle English medler, medeler, from Old French medler, meslier, from medle, mesdle (“medlar fruit”), from Latin mespilum, from Ancient Greek μέσπιλον (méspilon). Related to the rare mesple, via Proto-West Germanic *mespilā. Displaced Old English openærs (“open-arse”) (and similar names, from anatomical comparison).
noun medlars
- Mespilus germanica, common medlar (now often Crataegus germanica).
- Any tree of the genus Mespilus, now Crataegus sect. Mespilus, including many species now in other genera.
- Stern's medlar (Crataegus × canescens: family Rosaceae).
- Mediterranean medlar or azarole (Crataegus azarolus: family Rosaceae).
- Japanese medlar or loquat (Eriobotrya japonica: family Rosaceae).
- Spanish medlar or bulletwood (Mimusops elengi: family Sapotaceae).
- African medlar (Vangueria infausta: family Rubiaceae).
- Wolfberry, goji, red medlar (Lycium spp.).
- The fruit of such trees, similar to small apples
-
Especially that of Crataegus sect. Mespilus, not eaten until it has begun to decay, or more specifically, to blet.
Similar: open-arse
- A woman or a woman's genitalia (as the fruit's appearance resembles an "open-arse"). I was once before him for getting a wench with child....but I was fain to forswear it; they would else have married me to the rotten medlar.
Translations
Every language
noun tree Mespilus germanica
| Español | níspero (europeo), níspero |
|---|---|
| Português | nespereira |
| Français | néflier |
| Deutsch | Mispel |
| Italiano | nespolo |
| Română | moșmon, mușmul |
| Русский | мушмула́ mušmulá |
| العربية | مُشْمُلَة mušmula, إِسْكِدُنْيَا ʔiskidunyā, زُعْرُور zuʕrūr, مُصَع muṣaʕ |
Talk about this word "medlar." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/medlar. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. medlar. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/medlar "medlar." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/medlar.Cite this
@misc{medlar_2026,
title = {medlar},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/medlar},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
