chayote
chayote Lexical Profile
• noun
The pear-shaped, furrowed, light-green fruit of the vine Sechium edule, having crisp, mild-flavored flesh that is widely prepared and eaten as a culinary vegetable.
"She diced the peeled chayote and added it to the simmering chicken soup along with carrots and potatoes."
A vigorous, perennial climbing vine (Sechium edule) in the gourd family Cucurbitaceae, native to Mesoamerica and cultivated in warm regions worldwide for its edible fruits, tubers, and young shoots.
"The fast-growing chayote vine quickly covered the garden trellis with its broad, heart-shaped leaves and curling tendrils."
Botanically, the single-seeded, fleshy pepo or gourd fruit produced by the vine Sechium edule, characterized by a central flat pit that germinates inside the mature fruit.
"Unlike most other gourds that contain dozens of seeds, the chayote fruit encloses only a single large, soft seed at its center."
• Rhymes for chayote
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the late 18th century from Mexican Spanish chayote, which derives from the Classical Nahuatl word chayohtli, meaning 'spiny gourd' or 'squash'.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.