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papaya

UK[pəˈpaɪə]US[pəˈpɑːjə]
n

A large tropical fruit with yellow and green skin, sweet orange or red flesh, and many black seeds.

Etymology

The word 'papaya' entered English in the late 16th century via Spanish and Portuguese. These European languages adopted it from a Carib language of the West Indies, where it was known as 'papáia'. The Carib term was itself likely influenced by the Arawakan language family. As a direct loanword, its form was borrowed whole to name the exotic fruit newly encountered in the Americas, and its spelling was anglicized to fit English phonetic patterns.

Analysis

This word is a simplex loanword. It does not contain separable morphemes within the modern English spelling.

Examples

The tropical smoothie was made with fresh papaya and coconut milk.

Papaya seeds are edible and have a peppery taste.

She cut the ripe papaya in half and scooped out the black seeds.

papaya – Meaning, Etymology & Word Origin | OpenEtymology