Sapodilla
/ˌsæpəˈdɪlə/noun
A tropical tree and its sweet, brown-fleshed fruit.
Did you know?Sapodilla entered English through Spanish and ultimately comes from Nahuatl zapōtl or a related Mesoamerican word for a soft, edible fruit, showing how colonial trade preserved Indigenous plant names.
Etymological Timeline
Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica
Nahuatl
tzapotl / zapōtl
“A soft, edible fruit; the source of several Mesoamerican fruit names.”
16th Century
Spanish
zapotilla
“A diminutive form used for the fruit in Spanish colonial usage.”
17th Century
Spanish
sapodilla
“Spanish form of the fruit name, adapted in colonial trade and travel writing.”
17th–18th Century
English
sapodilla
“The tropical fruit tree and its sweet fruit.”