Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A ground cherry (Physalis philadelphica) native to Mexico but widely naturalized in eastern North America, having an edible, yellow to purple viscid fruit.
  • noun The fruit of this plant.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A fruit of the genus Physalis, resembling the tomato but surrounded by a thin papery skin.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun annual of Mexico and southern United States having edible purplish viscid fruit resembling small tomatoes
  • noun small edible yellow to purple tomato-like fruit enclosed in a bladderlike husk
  • noun Mexican annual naturalized in eastern North America having yellow to purple edible fruit resembling small tomatoes

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[American Spanish, diminutive of tomate, tomato; see tomato.]

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