persimmon

the word 'persimmon' entered english in the early 17th century from the algonquian language family of north america, specifically from a virginian algonquian word rendered as 'putchamin', 'pasiminan', or 'pessamin', meaning 'dried fruit'. this term was applied to the american persimmon (diospyros virginiana). the fruit's scientific genus name, 'diospyros', is of greek origin, meaning 'divine fruit' or 'wheat of zeus', but this is unrelated to the english common name. the journey of 'persimmon' from a specific indigenous term to its current general use for several species of the diospyros genus exemplifies the direct borrowing of words for new flora encountered by european colonists.

this word is a loanword adopted as a single, unanalyzable unit in english. it does not contain separable morphemes from the perspective of english word formation.