Etymologically
Log in

fruity

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 1 November 2026 at 01:05. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • /ˈfɹuːti/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English fruit + -y.[2][3][4][5] The noun is from Old French fruit, from Latin frūctus (“enjoyment; produce, fruit”), from fruor (“to use, enjoy”).[3] Green's Dictionary of Slang explains the slang senses separately: "rich, attractive" from fruit that is ripe for enjoyment, "crazy" from fruitcake, and "homosexual" from the slang use of the noun.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of or like fruit: 1657, in Richard Ligon's True History of Barbados.[2][7][8] Etymonline dates it to the 1650s,[3] and Dictionary.com to 1650–60.[5]

Semantic evolution

From 1843, in Dickens's Martin Chuzzlewit, the word was used of wine tasting of the grape.[2][8] Around 1900 it gained a colloquial sense, rich or strong in quality, highly interesting or suggestive, like juicy and spicy;[2][6] an American college glossary of 1900 defines it as "desirable".[6] In British use it was then applied to a story full of scandal or a voice that is mellow and deep,[4][9] and to something sexually suggestive.[9][10] American slang added "crazy" (1915) and "homosexual, effeminate" (1932), the latter now offensive.[6][9][11]

Timeline

  • 1657 – of, relating to or like fruit.[2][7]
  • 1843 – of wine, tasting of the grape.[2]
  • 1900 – rich, highly interesting or suggestive; desirable.[2][6]
  • 1915 – slang, crazy.[6]
  • 1932 – slang, homosexual or effeminate.[6]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Containing, relating to or like fruit, especially in taste or smell: a fruity jam.[9][11][10][2]
  2. Of wine: tasting richly of fruit or of the grape.[7][2][10]
  3. Of a voice: mellow, deep and rich.[9][10][4]
  4. (informal, chiefly British) Sexually suggestive; salacious.[9][10]
  5. (colloquial) Rich or strong in quality; highly interesting; juicy: a fruity bit of gossip.[2][7][6]
  6. Too sweet or sentimental.[11]
  7. (slang) Eccentric or crazy.[9][11][6]
  8. (offensive slang) Gay or effeminate.[9][11][6]

Word family

  • fruitiness
  • fruitily
  • unfruity

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
  7. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  8. ^ a b Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  10. ^ a b c d e Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  11. ^ a b c d e The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt