melopepo

Forms

mēlopepō m (genitive mēlopeponis); third declension^[1] The Tironian notes spell it melipepo.^[2]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek μηλοπέπων (mēlopépōn), “gourd-apple”,^[1][3][4][5] whose second part is πέπων (pépōn, “ripened by the sun”).^[6] Köbler connects pépōn with Proto-Indo-European *pekʷ- (“to cook”).^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in Pliny the Elder (23/24–79 AD),^[6] who describes an apple-shaped melon that is not eaten until fully ripe.^[4]

Semantic evolution

The OLD defines it as a kind of pumpkin,^[3] Wiktionary as a fragrant, quince-shaped, golden variety of the melon.^[1] Isidore of Seville counts pepo and melopepo among the Greek plant names whose origin was unclear to Latin speakers.^[2]

Its accusative melopeponem is the source, through Medieval Latin melo, of Old French melon and the English word.^[5]

Timeline

• 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder describes the apple-shaped melon.^[4][6]
• c. 560–636 AD – Isidore of Seville lists it among Greek plant names.^[2][6]
• late 14th century – English melon appears, ultimately from this word.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. A kind of melon or pumpkin shaped like an apple.^[3][4][1]

Related words

• pepo
• melo
• English melon

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
3. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de