Definitions

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

  • noun A western Asian tree (Citrus medica var. etrog) having white flowers and sour yellow fruit.
  • noun The fruit of this tree, used ceremonially in the Jewish festival of Sukkot.

Etymologies

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

[Aramaic and Mishnaic Hebrew ’etrōg, from Middle Persian wādrang, citron; akin to Sankrit māṭuluṅgam, from a source akin to Tamil mātaḷai, mātuḷai and Malayalam mātalam.]

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Examples

  • In a nightly ritual, each person waves around a long, graceful cluster of palm, laurel, and myrtle fronds while cradling a funny-looking, thick-skinned, bumpy, yellow citrus fruit called an etrog.

    The Blessing of a B Minus Ph.D. Wendy Mogel 2010

  • A lulav is made of palm, myrtle and willow leaves bound together, and you hold it together with an etrog, which is called a “citron” in English–it looks a bit like a lemon.

    2004 September - Danya Ruttenberg 2004

  • A lulav is made of palm, myrtle and willow leaves bound together, and you hold it together with an etrog, which is called a “citron” in English–it looks a bit like a lemon.

    Access denied - Danya Ruttenberg 2004

  • Hebrew, the citron is known as the etrog (Hebrew:???????).

    Find Me A Cure 2008

  • At the core of the Sukkot observance is the recitation of Hallel (psalms sung as expressions of exultant thanks), and the shaking of the lulav and etrog (a bundle of plants symbolizing life, abundance and thanks).

    Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson: Expanding Circles Of Thanks Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson 2011

  • Long before the Star of David came to be associated with Jews, the arba'at haminim -- the four species of the lulav (festive bouquet of willow, myrtle and palm) and the etrog (citron) -- were among the quintessential Jewish symbols in the rabbinic period.

    Rabbi Barry A. Kenter: Approaching Tishrei: Rain, Rain, Don't Go Away Rabbi Barry A. Kenter 2011

  • Then Alex Greenbaum, the vice chair for GLOE, gave all the kids and parents a little lesson about the lulav and the etrog — how to smell the etrog, what the different plants represent, and how to shake the lulav in every direction to symbolize that God is everywhere.

    GLBT Families Come OUT to Decorate the Sukkah With GLOE « The Blog at 16th and Q 2009

  • Among the interpretations given to the arba'at haminim is that the myrtle represents the human eye, the willow the mouth, the etrog the heart, and the palm the spine.

    Rabbi Barry A. Kenter: Approaching Tishrei: Rain, Rain, Don't Go Away Rabbi Barry A. Kenter 2011

  • I found the Jimi Hendrix shirt I was looking for, but no signs of any protests, although I was accosted by four aggressive pink-T-shirt-wearing folks from Planned Parenthood and a Hasidic Rabbi with a lulav and etrog.

    In San Francisco, There Are Many Ways to Occupy Wall Street Andy Kessler 2011

  • At the core of the Sukkot observance is the recitation of Hallel (psalms sung as expressions of exultant thanks), and the shaking of the lulav and etrog (a bundle of plants symbolizing life, abundance and thanks).

    Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson: Expanding Circles Of Thanks Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson 2011

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