sapodilla

[ sap-uh-dil-uh ]

/ ˌsæp əˈdɪl ə /

a large evergreen tree, Manilkara zapota, of tropical America, bearing an edible fruit and yielding chicle. Compare sapodilla family.

Also called sapodilla plum. the fruit itself.

Also called sapota.

Origin of sapodilla

1690–1700; < Spanish zapotillo, equivalent to zapot(e) sapota + -illo diminutive suffix

The sapodilla is a plum-colored fruit with seeds in a gelatinous mass.

The Panama Canal |Frederic Jennings Haskin
These are usually Santa Maria, chichem, sapodilla, or some hardwood.

The Maya Indians of Southern Yucatan and Northern British Honduras |Thomas William Francis Gann
The sapodilla is the most esteemed of the order Sapotaceæ, and one of the best of tropical fruits.

Origin of Cultivated Plants |Alphonse De Candolle
One was the mamaei, which was about as large as a peach, and the other the sapodilla, fruit of the color of a plum.

The Moving Picture Boys at Panama |Victor Appleton

sapodilla

/ (ˌsæpəˈdɪlə) /

a large tropical American evergreen tree, Achras zapota, the latex of which yields chicle

Also called: sapodilla plum the edible brown rough-skinned fruit of this tree, which has a sweet yellowish pulp

Also called: naseberry, sapota

C17: from Spanish zapotillo, diminutive of zapote sapodilla fruit, from Nahuatl tsapotl