Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Any of several trees or shrubs of the genus Fortunella, having small, edible, orangelike fruit.
- noun The fruit of any of these plants, having an acid pulp and a thin, edible rind.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun See
cumquat .
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Bot.) any of several trees or shrubs of the genus Fortunella (formerly Citrus) of the rue family (
Rutaceae ) (especiallyCitrus Japonica ) growing in China and Japan bearing small orange-colored edible fruits with thick sweet-flavored skin and sour pulp; also, any of the small acid, orange-colored citrus fruits of such plants, used mostly for preserves.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A small, orange
citrus -like fruit which is native to Asia.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun any of several trees or shrubs of the genus Fortunella bearing small orange-colored edible fruits with thick sweet-flavored skin and sour pulp
- noun small oval citrus fruit with thin sweet rind and very acid pulp
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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For anyone who's never tried one, a kumquat is about the size of a cherry tomato, and is somewhat like an orange in flavor and scent, except that the peel is sweet (and edible) and what little fruit there is is tart.
Archive 2005-01-01 2005
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At some point when I was a kid, I saw the word kumquat and started using it as though it were an insult.
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The word kumquat in itself is funny but porkquat is hilarious!
Porkquat Stir Fry Brilynn 2008
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At some point when I was a kid, I saw the word kumquat and started using it as though it were an insult.
Archive 2008-05-01 2008
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When it came time to choose favorites, every variety got at least one vote, but the kumquat was the winner with seven votes.
PE Angels Baseball 2009
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The most nutritious part of the kumquat is the peel.
unknown title 2009
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The most nutritious part of the kumquat is the peel.
unknown title 2009
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The word "kumquat" comes to us from a Cantonese word meaning "golden citrus fruit."
unknown title 2009
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The word "kumquat" comes to us from a Cantonese word meaning "golden citrus fruit."
unknown title 2009
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Chris Travers says: kumquat: This does not actually work, except via the placebo effect.
iansealy commented on the word kumquat
My favourite word.
January 18, 2007
brusselsprouts commented on the word kumquat
I love it too...who wants to eat them. They sound so kinky :)
January 24, 2008
goatboy commented on the word kumquat
Do you always have to sound so flirtatious, you big kumquat tart?
January 24, 2008
asativum commented on the word kumquat
Oh, man, kumquats are great. Tart, sweet; pop 'em in your mouth and eat 'em whole... And don't forget the limequat, lemonquat and the rest of their -quat ilk. Dade City, Fla., has an annual kumquat festival.
January 24, 2008
kewpid commented on the word kumquat
Yummy! Though I kinda like them because of the sour core, not the sweet exterior.
January 24, 2008
asativum commented on the word kumquat
Too true, kewpid. I accidentally bought some all-sweet kumquats the other month, and they weren't worth eating. (I didn't read the label.) But I suspect all-sour kumquats would lack something too.
June 24, 2008
dimã©lion commented on the word kumquat
are you all serious? i've ne'er had the pleasure of this kumquat... i'll have to locate one.
November 25, 2008
bilby commented on the word kumquat
Also cumquat. In Australia it's not widespread as a commercial fruit. It's popular as an ornamental citrus, and one that will do well in colder areas. Some people make marmalade from the fruit.
November 25, 2008