n. In both senses also called papaw.
- An evergreen, usually dioecious, tropical American tree (Carica papaya) having a crown of palmately divided leaves with pinnate lobes and large yellow edible fruit.
- The fruit of this tree.
[Spanish and Portuguese, both of Cariban origin.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
