carambola

noun

car·​am·​bo·​la ˌker-əm-ˈbō-lə 

ˌka-rəm-

1

: a 5-angled green to yellow tropical fruit of star-shaped cross section

called also star fruit

2

: a tropical tree (Averrhoa carambola) of the wood-sorrel family that is native to southeastern Asia and is widely cultivated for carambolas

Examples of carambola in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Mature carambola trees can withstand temperature dips to around 26 degrees for a short period of time, but young trees are more susceptible to the cold. —Tom MacCubbin, orlandosentinel.com, 24 Oct. 2020

This tropical fruit, also known as carambola, comes in sweet and tart varieties and has a juicy texture similar to pineapple. —Sandee Lamotte, CNN, 4 July 2017

In addition to the assortment of natives, including gumbo limbo, dwarf firebush and Florida slash pine, the city has added an assortment of fruit trees: mango, lychee and carambola, or starfruit. —Elizabeth Roberts, Sun-Sentinel.com, 15 June 2017

And everyone can try 40 varieties of Brazil’s exotic fruits like caju, acai, carambola, caqui, goiaba and maracuja, often squeezed into Brazil’s delicious juices (sucos in Portuguese). —The Associated Press, New York Times, 14 May 2016

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Portuguese, probably borrowed from a Konkani equivalent of Marathi karambala, going back to a derivative of Sanskrit karmara- "the fruit or tree Averrhoa carambola" (as karmaraṅga- or karmaphala- —with phalaṃ "fruit"), of uncertain origin

Note: The Marathi word is recorded in J. T. Molesworth's A Dictionary, Marathi and English (Bombay, 1857), along with the variants kamarakha, karamara, karamaḷa.

First Known Use

1598, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

carambola

noun

car·​am·​bo·​la ˌkar-əm-ˈbō-lə 

: star fruit