Skip to main content

single word requests - Is there an adjective that means 'fruit-like'?


Is there a word for fruit-like that could be uttered by an aristocratic gentleman of the 18th Century in a club such as Boodle's without sounding anachronous or ill-befitting of his class?


Before anyone mentions it, I have looked at 'fruitlike', but, due to its lack of use pre-1850 (Ngrams) and the fact it is being corrected by my spell-checker due to its rarity, I am discounting it.



Adjective


fruitlike ‎(comparative more fruitlike, superlative most fruitlike)



  1. Resembling fruit.

    • The chewing gum had a fruitlike fragrance.





(Wiktionary)


I have also looked at fruity but, in my setting, it seems slightly out-of-place, despite it being used at the time†.



Adjective


fruity ‎(comparative fruitier, superlative fruitiest)



  1. containing fruit or fruit flavouring

  2. similar to fruit or tasting of fruit

  3. (informal) mad, crazy

  4. (informal, derogatory, LGBT, of a male) effeminate or otherwise flamboyant or homosexual

  5. (Britain, informal) sexually suggestive.

    • His text message was filled with fruity language.





The sentence into which my word needs to fit is as follows:



By George! doesn't that painting render his head so dreadfully [fruity]





† It was used at the time, but I am unsure as to with which meaning; № 3, 4, 5 would certainly not fit.



fruity (adj.)
1650s, from fruit + -y (2). Related: Fruitiness.



(Etymoline)


The example sentence doesn't need to be too rigid; if you can find a good word, don't let the sentence stop you!



Answer



Fructiform appears to exist as an obscure word for "having the form of a fruit" Merriam-Webster. My Collins dictionary doesn't list it, and I can't find any further details of how long it has been in use.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

etymology - Origin of the greeting "Sweet dreams".

Does anybody know the etymology of the phrase "sweet dreams"? I tried googling but did not find anything satisfying. Is this a relatively new phrase of the modern world or has this been in use for some time? I think it's the latter one. Answer The OED has the interjection as "a farewell to someone going to bed" from the 20th century: 1908 Sears Roebuck Catal. 198/1 Tenor Solos..Good Bye, Sweet Dreams, Good Bye. But it goes back until at least the 19th and possibly 18th centuries. John Wolcot, writing under the pseudonym of Peter Pindar, used it in his poem "Orson and Ellen; A Legendary Tale" published in 1801: Also from 1801 in The infernal Quixote (Page 287) by Charles Lucas: In the March 1776 of The Universal Magazine was published "The Serenade. A Pastoral Tale. From the German of Gesner" , where the shepherd Daphnis watches over his beloved as she sleeps and sings: The same tale appears in 1776's as Idyl XI, " Daphnis ...

Is there a word/phrase for "unperformant"?

As a software engineer, I need to sometimes describe a piece of code as something that lacks performance or was not written with performance in mind. Example: This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. Based on my Google searches, this isn't a real word. What is the correct way to describe this? EDIT My usage of "performance" here is in regard to speed and efficiency. For example, the better the performance of code the faster the application runs. My question and example target the negative definition, which is in reference to preventing inefficient coding practices. Answer This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. In my opinion, reads more easily as: This coding style leads to unmaintainable and poorly performing code. The key to well-written documentation and reports lies in ease of understanding. Adding poorly understood words such as performant decreases that ease. In addressing the use of such a poorly ...

What are the similarities between the relationships of the characters in The Outsiders and Romeo and Juliet?

At first glance, it might appear as if the characters in  The Outsiders  by S. E. Hinton and  Romeo and Juliet  by William Shakespeare do not have much in common; however, when one isolates the core of the conflicts, it becomes clear that the relationships in both stories are rooted in rivalry and secrecy.  In both  The Outsiders  and  Romeo and Juliet , an overarching theme is rivalry. While   socioeconomic status separates the greasers from the Socs in The Outsiders , last names separates the Montagues from the Capulets, who appear to be relatively equal in terms of socioeconomic status. Due to these rivalries, there are instances of deadly interactions in both stories. In  The Outsiders , Johnny kills Bob (whether his actions were justified or not is debatable). In  Romeo and Juliet , Romeo kills Tybalt and Paris, and Tybalt kills Mercutio. These deaths have profound effects on the main characters. In Ponyboy's case, the Johnny's death and other events in the novel inspire h...