tomato English · revision 15517

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1604|origins=nci tomatl}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /təˈmɑː.təʊ/ ''(UK)''; /təˈmeɪ.toʊ/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is an alteration of earlier tomate,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) [[bor|es|tomate]] (or [[m|pt|tomate]]),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from [[nci|tomatl|t=tomato]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) said to mean the swelling fruit, from [[m|nci|tomana|t=to swell]].^(Etymonline) The spelling was probably influenced by [[potato]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ 1604 (tomate) in Barnhart, the OED and Merriam-Webster; the form tomato from 1753, in Chambers' ''Cyclopaedia''.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Tomato, tomata and tomatum were 18th-century pseudo-Spanish and Latin forms.^(Hoad 1986) Introduced to Europe from the New World, tomatoes were eaten in Italy by 1550 but in England were long grown only as ornamental plants;^(Etymonline) the 1753 ''Cyclopaedia'' describes it as eaten by Spaniards, Italians and Jewish families in England.^(Etymonline) Thomas Jefferson introduced it in the United States in 1789, but it was not commonly eaten there until about 1830.^(Etymonline) The older English name was [[love apple]].^(Etymonline) Tomato sauce is by 1806, and the slang sense, an attractive woman, by 1922.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1604 – tomate.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1753 – tomato.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1806 – tomato sauce.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1844 – tomato juice.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1922 – an attractive woman (slang).^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The red, juicy, fleshy fruit of a South American plant of the [[nightshade]] family, eaten raw or cooked as a vegetable.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The plant itself, ''Lycopersicon esculentum''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(dated slang)'' An attractive woman.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[tomatoey]]

+ * [[currant tomato]]

+ * [[husk tomato]]

+ * [[strawberry tomato]]

+ * [[beefsteak tomato]]

+ * [[cherry tomato]]

+ * [[tomato hornworm]]

+ * [[plum tomato]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[tomatillo]]

+ * [[potato]]

+ * [[love apple]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The AHD notes that the tomato, like the potato and squash, was domesticated by the peoples of the Americas.^(AHD)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}