Melon
/ˈmɛl.ən/noun
A large fruit with a hard rind and sweet, juicy flesh, especially one of the cucumber family.
Did you know?The English word ultimately comes from Greek mēlopepōn, literally “apple-melon,” a name for a fruit thought to be a kind of apple-gourd hybrid in the ancient world.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*meh₂lo-
“apple, fruit”
Ancient Greek
Greek
mēlon
“apple; tree fruit”
Ancient Greek
Greek
mēlopepōn
“apple-melon, a melon-like fruit”
Late Latin
Latin
melo
“melon”
Old French
Old French
melon
“melon”
Modern English
English
melon
“melon”