lemon
English edit
Etymology edit
Inherited from Middle English lymon, from Old French lymon (“citrus”), from Arabic لَيْمُون (laymūn) or Persian لیمون (limon), from Persian لیمو (limu), from Sanskrit निम्बू (nimbū, “lime”), ultimately from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *limaw or Munda.[1]
The fandom sense is named after the erotic anime series Cream Lemon.[2]
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
lemon (plural lemons)
- A yellowish citrus fruit.
- A semitropical evergreen tree, Citrus limon, that bears such fruits.
- A more or less bright shade of yellow associated with lemon fruits.
- lemon flesh:
- lemon rind:
- A lemon shark (Negaprion brevirostris).
- (slang) A defective or inadequate item or individual.
- He didn’t realise until he’d paid for it that the car was a lemon.
- 1951, Herman Wouk, chapter 20, in The Caine Mutiny, page 243:
- “ […] the Navy's supposed to give me a ship that goes, and a captain that fights—— That's what all this muck is for, isn't it?”
“Look, it's an old story by now. We're stuck with a lemon. Misfortune of war. […] ”
- (Cockney rhyming slang, shortened from “lemon flavour”) Favor.
- A thousand quid for that motor? Do me a lemon! I could get it for half that.
- (fandom slang) A piece of fanfiction involving explicit sex.
- 2000 May 30, Ian Blakeman, “[Eva][FanFic][Lemon] A day at Misatos appartment[sic]”, in rec.arts.anime.creative[3] (Usenet):
- WARNING: This story is a lemon and must be viewed with great care. If you are either under the age of 18, think graphic sex is discussing[sic] or you know what my writing is like you should turn away now.
- (geometry) The surface of revolution of a circular arc of angle less than 180° rotated about the straight line passing through the arc’s two endpoints.
- Coordinate term: apple
Synonyms edit
Alternate forms edit
- limon (obsolete)
Hypernyms edit
Derived terms edit
- acid of lemon
- bitter lemon
- bush lemon (Citrus jhambiri)
- do me a lemon
- easy peasy lemon squeezy
- Ichang lemon (Citrus cavaleriei × Citrus maxima)
- lemonade
- lemon ant (Myrmelachista schumanni)
- lemon balm (Melissa officinalis)
- lemon bar
- lemon basil (Ocimum × citriodorum)
- lemon beebrush (Aloysia citrodora)
- lemon-bellied flycatcher (Microeca flavigaster)
- lemon-bellied flyrobin (Microeca flavigaster)
- lemon-belly
- lemon cheese
- lemon chicken
- lemon chiffon
- lemon chiffon pie
- lemon clover (Oxalis stricta)
- lemon curd
- lemon daylily (Hemerocallis lilioasphodelus var., syn. Hemerocallis flava var.)
- lemon drop
- lemon eucalyptus (Corymbia citriodora)
- lemon geranium (Pelargonium crispum)
- lemongrass, lemon grass (Cymbopogon spp., esp. Cymbopogon citratus)
- lemon juice
- lemon laundering
- lemon law
- lemon lily (Hemerocallis lilioasphodelus var., syn. Hemerocallis flava var.)
- lemon-lime, lemon lime
- lemon meringue
- lemon meringue pie
- lemon myrtle (Backhousia citriodora)
- lemon pepper
- lemon plait
- lemon shark (Microstomus kitt)
- lemon socialism
- lemon soda
- lemon sole (Microstomus kitt)
- lemon square
- lemon squash
- lemon-squeezer
- lemon squeezer
- lemon tea
- lemon thyme (Thymus spp.)
- lemon verbena, lemon vervain (Aloysia citrodora)
- lemon water
- lemony
- lemon yellow
- Meyer lemon (Citrus × meyeri)
- oil of lemon eucalyptus
- Philippine lemon
- ponderosa lemon (Citrus × pyriformis)
- rough lemon (Citrus jhambiri)
- salt of lemon
- sea lemon (Dorididae spp.; Ximenia americana)
- sit there like a lemon
- stand there like a lemon
- suck a lemon
- sweet lemon (Citrus hybrids)
- water lemon (Passiflora laurifolia)
Related terms edit
Translations edit
citrus fruit
|
tree
|
defective item
|
colour/color
|
taste
|
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
See also edit
Adjective edit
lemon (comparative more lemon, superlative most lemon)
- Containing or having the flavour/flavor and/or scent of lemons.
- Of the pale yellow colour/color of lemons.
- (Cockney rhyming slang, from "lemon tart") Smart; cheeky, vocal.
- 2009 October 12, Caitlin Moran, “Why I love paying tax”, in The Times:
- Obviously Emin is not the first public figure to get lemon over tax increases.
Translations edit
having the flavour/flavor and/or scent of lemons
|
having the colour/color of lemons
|
Verb edit
lemon (third-person singular simple present lemons, present participle lemoning, simple past and past participle lemoned)
- (transitive) To flavour with lemon.
- You can start the vegetables cooking while you are lemoning the fish.
See also edit
References edit
- ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “lemon”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
- ^ Maria Lindgren Leavenworth & Malin Isaksson, Fanged Fan Fiction: Variations on Twilight, True Blood and The Vampire Diaries, page 118
Anagrams edit
Esperanto edit
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
lemon
- accusative singular of lemo
Welsh edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
lemon m (plural lemonau, not mutable)
Related terms edit
- lemonêd (“lemonade”)
Western Huasteca Nahuatl edit
Noun edit
lemon