apricot

noun, apri·cot often attributive \ˈa-prə-ˌkät, ˈā-\

: a small orange-colored fruit that is related to the peach and plum

Full Definition of APRICOT

a : the oval orange-colored fruit of a temperate-zone tree (Prunus armeniaca) resembling the related peach and plum in flavor

b : a tree that bears apricots

: a variable color averaging a moderate orange

See apricot defined for English-language learners

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Origin of APRICOT

alteration of earlier abrecock, ultimately from Arabic al-birqūq the apricot, ultimately from Latin (persicum) praecox, literally, early ripening (peach) — more at precocious

First Known Use: 1580

Rhymes with APRICOT

aeronaut, aliquot, angle shot, apparat, aquanaut, argonaut, astronaut, beauty spot, bergamot, booster shot, burning ghat, cachalot, Camelot, caveat, carry-cot, chamber pot, chimney pot, coffeepot, cosmonaut, counterplot, doodley-squat, floreat, flowerpot, flying spot, follow shot, gallipot, granny knot, guillemot, Gujarat, hit the spot, honeypot, Hottentot, Huguenot, juggernaut, kilowatt, Lancelot, like a shot, lobster pot, megawatt, melting pot, microdot, monocot, monoglot, noble rot, Nouakchott, ocelot, on the spot, overshot, paraquat, parking lot, passing shot, patriot, pepper pot, peridot, piping hot, polka dot, polyglot, running knot, samizdat, sansculotte, scattershot, scot and lot, shoulder knot, single knot, Southern blot, stopper knot, surgeon's knot, terawatt, tie the knot, tommyrot, touch-me-not, tracking shot, turkey trot, underplot, undershot, Western blot, Windsor knot, Wyandot, wyandotte

APRICOT Defined for Kids

apricot

noun apri·cot \ˈa-prə-ˌkät, ˈā-\

Definition of APRICOT for Kids

: a small oval orange-colored fruit that looks like the related peach and plum

Word History of APRICOT

The Romans seem to have thought that apricots were “early-ripening peaches,” since that is the literal meaning of the Latin name for the fruit: persica praecocia. The second word in this phrase was borrowed by the Greeks, in the form praikokion, as their name for the fruit. When the Arabs entered the Mediterranean Sea region in the early Middle Ages, they in turn borrowed the Greek word as barqūq, and Arabic al-barqūq, “the apricot,” is the ultimate source of the English word apricot.

Learn More About APRICOT

Spanish Central: Spanish translation of "apricot"

Nglish: Translation of "apricot" for Spanish speakers

Britannica English: Translation of "apricot" for Arabic speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about "apricot"

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