1.
[syn: sweet cherry, Prunus avium]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Gean \Gean\, n. [F. guigne the fruit of the gean; cf. OHG.
w[imac]hsila, G. weichsel.] (Bot.)
A species of cherry tree common in Europe (Prunus avium);
also, the fruit, which is usually small and dark in color.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Cherry \Cher"ry\ (ch[e^]r"r[y^]), n. [OE. chery, for cherys, fr.
F. cerise (cf. AS. cyrs cherry), fr. LL. ceresia, fr. L.
cerasus Cherry tree, Gr. keraso`s, perh. fr. ke`ras horn,
from the hardness of the wood.]
1. (Bot.) A tree or shrub of the genus Prunus (Which also
includes the plum) bearing a fleshy drupe with a bony
stone;
(a) The common garden cherry (Prunus Cerasus), of which
several hundred varieties are cultivated for the
fruit, some of which are, the begarreau, blackheart,
black Tartarian, oxheart, morelle or morello, May-duke
(corrupted from M['e]doc in France).
(b) The wild cherry; as, Prunus serotina (wild black
cherry), valued for its timber; Prunus Virginiana
(choke cherry), an American shrub which bears
astringent fruit; Prunus avium and Prunus Padus,
European trees (bird cherry).
[1913 Webster]
2. The fruit of the cherry tree, a drupe of various colors
and flavors.
[1913 Webster]
3. The timber of the cherry tree, esp. of the black cherry,
used in cabinetmaking, etc.
[1913 Webster]
4. A peculiar shade of red, like that of a cherry.
[1913 Webster]
Barbadoes cherry. See under Barbadoes.
Cherry bird (Zool.), an American bird; the cedar bird; --
so called from its fondness for cherries.
Cherry bounce, cherry brandy and sugar.
Cherry brandy, brandy in which cherries have been steeped.
Cherry laurel (Bot.), an evergreen shrub (Prunus
Lauro-cerasus) common in shrubberies, the poisonous
leaves of which have a flavor like that of bitter almonds.
Cherry pepper (Bot.), a species of Capsicum (Capsicum
cerasiforme), with small, scarlet, intensely piquant
cherry-shaped fruit.
Cherry pit.
(a) A child's play, in which cherries are thrown into a
hole. --Shak.
(b) A cherry stone.
Cherry rum, rum in which cherries have been steeped.
Cherry sucker (Zool.), the European spotted flycatcher
(Musicapa grisola); -- called also cherry chopper
cherry snipe.
Cherry tree, a tree that bears cherries.
Ground cherry, Winter cherry, See Alkekengi.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
Prunus avium
n 1: large Eurasian tree producing small dark bitter fruit in
the wild but edible sweet fruit under cultivation [syn:
sweet cherry, Prunus avium]