Medlar definition

mĕdlər

A deciduous European tree (Mespilus germanica) in the rose family, having white flowers and edible apple-shaped fruit.

noun

The fruit of this plant, eaten fresh or made into preserves.

noun

A small tree (Mespilus germanica) of the rose family, growing in Europe and Asia.

noun

Its small, brown, applelike fruit, hard and bitter when ripe and eaten or used in preserves when partly decayed.

noun

A tree of the genus Mespilus.

noun

The fruit of the tree. The fruit is something like a small apple, and it is not eaten until it has begun to decay, or more properly, to blet.

noun

Other Word Forms

Singular:

medlar

Plural:

medlars

Middle English medler from Old French meslier, medler from mesle, medle fruit of the medlar from Late Latin mespila from Greek mespilē

From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
Via Middle English from Old French medler, from medle (“medlar fruit"), from Latin mespila, from Ancient Greek μέσπιλον (mespilon)

From Wiktionary