What is "plum"

Plum \Plum\, n. [AS. pl[=u]me, fr. L. prunum; akin to Gr. ?, ?. Cf. Prune a dried plum.]

1. (Bot.) The edible drupaceous fruit of the Prunus domestica, and of several other species of Prunus; also, the tree itself, usually called plum tree.

   The bullace, the damson, and the numerous varieties of plum, of our gardens, although growing into thornless trees, are believed to be varieties of the blackthorn, produced by long cultivation.
   --G. Bentham.

   Note: Two or three hundred varieties of plums derived from the Prunus domestica are described; among them the greengage, the Orleans, the purple gage, or Reine Claude Violette, and the German prune, are some of the best known.

   Note: Among the true plums are;

   Beach plum, the Prunus maritima, and its crimson or purple globular drupes,

   Bullace plum. See Bullace.

   Chickasaw plum, the American Prunus Chicasa, and its round red drupes.

   Orleans plum, a dark reddish purple plum of medium size, much grown in England for sale in the markets.

   Wild plum of America, Prunus Americana, with red or yellow fruit, the original of the Iowa plum and several other varieties. [1913 Webster] Among plants called plum, but of other genera than Prunus, are;

   Australian plum, Cargillia arborea and Cargillia australis, of the same family with the persimmon.

   Blood plum, the West African H[ae]matostaphes Barteri.

   Cocoa plum, the Spanish nectarine. See under Nectarine.

   Date plum. See under Date.

   Gingerbread plum, the West African Parinarium macrophyllum.

   Gopher plum, the Ogeechee lime.

   Gray plum, Guinea plum. See under Guinea.

   Indian plum, several species of Flacourtia.

2. A grape dried in the sun; a raisin.

3. A handsome fortune or property; formerly, in cant language, the sum of [pounds]100,000 sterling; also, the person possessing it.

4. Something likened to a plum in desirableness; a good or choice thing of its kind, as among appointments, positions, parts of a book, etc.; as, the mayor rewarded his cronies with cushy plums, requiring little work for handsome pay

5. A color resembling that of a plum; a slightly grayish deep purple, varying somewhat in its red or blue tint.

   Plum bird, Plum budder (Zo["o]l.), the European bullfinch.

   Plum gouger (Zo["o]l.), a weevil, or curculio ( Coccotorus scutellaris), which destroys plums. It makes round holes in the pulp, for the reception of its eggs. The larva bores into the stone and eats the kernel.

   Plum weevil (Zo["o]l.), an American weevil which is very destructive to plums, nectarines, cherries, and many other stone fruits. It lays its eggs in crescent-shaped incisions made with its jaws. The larva lives upon the pulp around the stone. Called also turk, and plum curculio. See Illust. under Curculio.

Old English plume "plum, plum tree," from an early Germanic borrowing (Middle Dutch prume, Dutch pruim, Old High German pfluma, pfruma, German Pflaume) from Vulgar Latin *pruna, from Latin prunum "plum," from Greek prounon, later form of proumnon, of unknown origin, perhaps from an Asiatic language (Phrygian?). Also see prune (n.). Change of pr- to pl- is peculiar to Germanic. The vowel shortened in early modern English. Meaning "something desirable" is first recorded 1780, probably in reference to the sugar-rich bits of a plum pudding, etc.

Etymology 1

1. 1 (context comparable English) Of a dark bluish-red colour. 2 (context not comparable English) choice; especially lavish or preferred. n. 1 The edible, fleshy stone fruit of ''Prunus domestica'', often of a dark red or purple colour. 2 The stone-fruit tree which bears this fruit, ''Prunus domestica''. 3 A dark bluish-red color/colour, the colour of some plums. 4 A desirable thing. 5 (context archaic English) A handsome fortune or property; formerly, in cant language, the sum of £100,000 sterling, or a person possessing it. 6 (cx dated English) A good or choice thing of its kind, as among appointments, positions, parts of a book, etc. 7 A raisin, when used in a pudding or cake. 8 (context pejorative English) A fool, idiot. 9 (context slang usually in plural English) A testicle. 10 The edible, fleshy stone fruit of several species sharing ''Prunus subg. Prunus'' with ''Prunus domestica'' including, among others: 11 # (taxlink Prunus sect. Prunus section noshow=1) 12 ## ''Prunus cerasifera'', the cherry plum or myrobalan 13 ## (taxlink Prunus salicina species noshow=1) the Chinese plum or (vern Japanese plum pedia=1) 14 ## ''Prunus spinosa'', the sloe 15 ## (taxlink Prunus ursina species noshow=1) the (vern bear's plum pedia=1) 16 # (taxlink Prunus sect. Prunocerasus section noshow=1) North American plums 17 ## (taxlink Prunus americanus species noshow=1), the (vern American plum pedia=1) 18 ## (taxlink Prunus angustifolia species noshow=1), the (vern Chickasaw plum pedia=1) or (vern sandhill plum pedia=1) 19 ## (taxlink Prunus hortulana species noshow=1), the (vern hortulan plum pedia=1) 20 ## (taxlink Prunus nigra species noshow=1), the (vern Canadian plum pedia=1) or (vern black plum pedia=1) 21 ## (taxlink Prunus rivularis species noshow=1), the (vern creek plum pedia=1) or (vern hog plum pedia=1) 22 ## (taxlink Prunus subcordata species noshow=1), the (vern Klamath plum pedia=1) or (vern Oregon plum pedia=1) 23 # (taxlink Prunus sect. Armeniaca section noshow=1) (better known as apricots) 24 ## ''Prunus mume'', an Asian fruit more closely related to the apricot than the plum, usually consumed pickled, dried, or as a juice or wine; ume. 25 The stone-fruit trees which bear these fruits. 26 The fruits of many unrelated trees and shrubs with fruit perceived to resemble plums 27 The trees and shrubs bearing those fruits Etymology 2

   a. plumb adv. completely; utterly. v

2. (context mining English) To plumb.

1. adv. exactly; "fell plumb in the middle of the puddle" [syn: plumb]

2. completely; used as intensifiers; "clean forgot the appointment"; "I'm plumb (or plum) tuckered out" [syn: clean, plumb]

1. n. any of several trees producing edible oval smooth-skinned fruit with a single hard stone [syn: plum tree]

2. any of numerous varieties of small to medium-sized round or oval smooth-skinned fruit with a single pit

A plum is a fruit of the subgenus Prunus of the genus Prunus. The subgenus is distinguished from other subgenera ( peaches, cherries, bird cherries, etc.) in the shoots having terminal bud and solitary side buds (not clustered), the flowers in groups of one to five together on short stems, and the fruit having a groove running down one side and a smooth stone (or pit).

Mature plum fruit may have a dusty-white coating that gives them a glaucous appearance. This is an epicuticular wax coating and is known as "wax bloom". Dried plum fruits are called dried plums or prunes, although prunes are a distinct type of plum, and may have antedated the fruits now commonly known as plums.

Plum refers to both a type of tree, and the fruit stemming from that tree.

Plum may also refer to:

{{infobox color

title= Plum|textcolor=white

hex= 8E4585

r= 142|g= 69|b= 133

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h= 347| s= 51,4|v= 55,7

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Plum is a deep purple color, such as that shown at right (color #8E4585), which is a close representation of the average color of the plum fruit.

As a quaternary color on the RYB color wheel, plum is an equal mix of the tertiary colors russet and slate (also known as olive).

The first recorded use of plum as a color name in English was in 1805.