Quince definition

kwĭns

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A shrub or small tree (Cydonia oblonga) in the rose family, native to western Asia, having white or pink flowers and hard yellow pear-shaped fruit.

noun

The aromatic, many-seeded fruit of this plant, usually used for jelly or in cooked dishes.

noun

A golden or greenish-yellow, hard, apple-shaped fruit of a small tree (Cydonia oblonga) of the rose family, used in preserves.

noun

The pear-shaped fruit of a small tree of the rose family, Cydonia oblonga.

noun

The tree.

noun

The deciduous tree bearing such fruit, native to Asia.

noun

Other Word Forms

Singular:

quince

Plural:

quinces

Middle English quynce pl. of quyn quince from Old French cooin from Latin cotōneum (mālum) quince (fruit) probably variant of cydōnium from Greek dialectal kudōnion (mālon) alteration (influenced by Kudōniā , Cydonia, an ancient city of northwest Crete) of kodumālon

From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
From Old French cooing (modern coing), from Late Latin cotōneum < mālum cotōneum, a variant of mālum Cydonium (“Cydonian apple"), translating Ancient Greek μήλον κυδώνιον (melon kudonion).

From Wiktionary