Definitions

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

  • noun A tropical evergreen tree (Artocarpus heterophyllus) of South and Southeast Asia, widely cultivated for its very large edible fruits, having pulpy yellow flesh.
  • noun The fruit of this tree.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The fruit of the jack-tree.

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

  • noun A tree, scientific name Artocarpus heterophyllus, of the Moraceae family, which produces edible fruit.
  • noun The large fruit from this tree.

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

  • noun East Indian tree cultivated for its immense edible fruit and seeds
  • noun immense East Indian fruit resembling breadfruit; it contains an edible pulp and nutritious seeds that are commonly roasted

Etymologies

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

[Portuguese jaca (from Malayalam cakkai) + fruit.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Portuguese jaca ("jackfruit"), from Malayalam ചക്ക (chakka).

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Examples

  • One of the earliest descriptions of the jackfruit is to be found in the 16th century memoirs of the Mughal Emperor Babar, who was not much enamored of it:

    November 13th, 2007 2007

  • Here, canned jackfruit is cooked into a quick and easy Green Jackfruit Curry by Sheela of Delectable Victuals.

    Archive 2007-03-01 Nupur 2007

  • 'The jackfruit is ugly and to some people is bad tasting.

    November 13th, 2007 2007

  • The ripe jackfruit is good to eat; although with its distinct aroma, it is something of an acquired taste.

    Archive 2005-10-01 Nupur 2005

  • The jackfruit is a fairly rapid grower, reaching 58 ft (17.5 m) in height and 28 in (70 cm) around the trunk in 20 years in Ceylon.

    Yahoo! Answers: Latest Questions 2010

  • Besides mulberry trees, the farm boasts a variety of fruit trees such as jackfruit, banana, papaya, starfruit, lime and others.

    TravelPod.com TravelStream™ — Recent Entries at TravelPod.com 2010

  • He said the KVK laid thrust on income generation from locally available fruits such as jackfruit, fig, papaya, mango, etc., by utilising refined technologies.

    The Hindu - Front Page 2009

  • This book looks great - trying to find relatively common fruits such as jackfruit or breadfruit fresh is tough enough.

    Original Signal - Transmitting Buzz 2009

  • "The main commercial crop in the area is jackfruit, which is also the favourite food of thebears.

    Daily News & Analysis 2009

  • "The main commercial crop in the area is jackfruit, which is also the favourite food of thebears.

    Daily News & Analysis 2009

Comments

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  • bilby: dried jackfruit here!

    (I've never tasted it fresh or canned, just dried.)

    May 24, 2011

  • Mmmm, jackfruit!

    May 24, 2011