Guava
/ˈɡwɑːvə/noun
A tropical tree or shrub that bears round or oval edible fruit with sweet, aromatic flesh.
Did you know?Guava entered English through Spanish and ultimately comes from a Taíno word, making it a rare everyday fruit name preserved from an Indigenous Caribbean language.
Etymological Timeline
Pre-Columbian
Taíno
guayaba
“the guava fruit”
16th Century
Spanish
guayaba
“guava fruit”
16th Century
Portuguese
goiaba
“guava fruit”
16th-17th Century
English
guava
“the tropical fruit and its tree”
Modern English
English
guava
“a tropical fruit-bearing tree or its fruit”