Umeboshi
/ˌuːməˈbɒʃi/noun
A Japanese salted and dried ume fruit, commonly translated as pickled plum.
Did you know?Umeboshi is traditionally made from ume, the fruit of Prunus mume, which is botanically closer to an apricot than a European plum.
Etymological Timeline
Old Japanese, 8th Century
Old Japanese
ume
“Ume fruit; the word appears in early Japanese literature and is generally understood as a borrowing from Chinese.”
Middle Chinese
Chinese
梅 (*məi)
“Plum or related stone fruit; the source of Japanese ume.”
Old Japanese
Old Japanese
hosu / hoshi
“To dry; the noun-forming stem associated with drying.”
Pre-modern Japanese
Japanese
梅干し (umeboshi)
“Ume that has been dried, typically after being salted; the compound combines ume with hoshi.”
Modern English, 20th Century
English
umeboshi
“A Japanese salted, dried ume fruit, often called a pickled plum.”