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pawpaw

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pawpaw¹

  • /ˈpɔːpɔː/
  • /ˈpɑːpɑː/ cot caught merger

Where it comes from

Via Portuguese and Spanish papaya from Lokono papáia; compare also Kari'na kapaja. Doublet of papaya.

Alternatively from Yuchi pahpah.

noun pawpaws · papaw · paw-paw

  1. Any member of the genus Asimina of trees and shrubs native to eastern North America, especially common pawpaw (Asimina triloba). Throughout the years it's gone by a lot of names—frost banana, Indiana banana, fetid-bush, bandango, custard apple, prairie banana, poor man's banana—but most of the time it's just been called pawpaw. At first glance, both the fruit and the tree seem out of place in North America.

    Similar: custard apple, prairie banana, hillbilly mango

  2. Australia Papaya (Carica papaya), a widely cultivated tropical fruit tree.

    Similar: papaya

  3. Mountain pawpaw (Vasconcellea pubescens), a fruit tree native to South America. Xavier sliced the pawpaw in half, emptying the tiny black seeds over the veranda wall.

    Similar: mountain pawpaw, mountain papaya

  4. The fruit itself of such trees.

pawpaw²

  • /ˈpɔːpɔː/
  • /ˈpɑːpɑː/ cot caught merger

Where it comes from

Related to papa, or pa(w) pa(w) (one’s father’s father).

noun pawpaws · papaw · pappaw · paw-paw

  1. colloquial, dialectal Grandfather.

    Similar: peepaw, pepaw

Pawpaw³

noun Pawpaws

  1. Alternative letter-case form of pawpaw (“grandfather”). She had enjoyed a happy childhood, but her one consistent ambition was to join her Pawpaw's law firm.

Translations

Every language

noun fruit

Españolpapaya
日本語ポーポー pōpō
中文泡泡 pàopào
Kiswahilipapai
Portuguêsmamão
Françaisasimina
DeutschPapau, Asimina
Русскийазимина azimina, асимина asimina
العربيةببو فاكهَة

noun Asimina

Españolchirimoyo de la Florida, banano de montaña

Talk about this word

Cite this
MLA

"pawpaw." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/pawpaw. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

pawpaw. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/pawpaw

Chicago

"pawpaw." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/pawpaw.

BibTeX
@misc{pawpaw_2026,
  title = {pawpaw},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/pawpaw},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}