Everyday LifeGreek → English
Medlar
/ˈmɛdlər/noun
A small brown autumn fruit, edible only once it has begun to rot on the straw.
The Greek roots
μέσπιλον
méspilon
the medlar fruit
Literally: “the fruit called mespilon”
Follow a root:μέσπιλον1 word
The story of the word
The Greek name travelled through Latin mespila and Old French medler with the tree itself. The fruit is hard and sour off the branch and must be bletted, left to soften past ripeness, before it turns sweet, which is why medieval England called it the open-arse and the French called it the dog's backside. Shakespeare used it for a joke in Romeo and Juliet that most modern audiences miss.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → Latin → Old French → English
- First recorded
- 14th century
In a sentence
She left the medlars in a tray of sawdust until November and then made jelly.
A medlar eaten too early will pucker your whole face.