medlar

noun

med·​lar ˈmed-lər 

: a small deciduous Eurasian tree (Mespilus germanica) of the rose family whose fruit resembles a crab apple and is used in preserves

also : its fruit

Examples of medlar in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The winter garden windows open electronically (also per Otto’s design) and look out onto verdant thatches of privacy-preserving bamboo and medlar; from his desk, Heimer faces the massive 90-year-old chestnut tree, its leaves blushing madly with fall color. —Megan O’Grady, New York Times, 10 Nov. 2020

And things get worse — looks-wise — for medlar from now on. —Washington Post, 5 Nov. 2019

None other than Charlemagne included medlar among the mandatory plants for his royal estates. —Washington Post, 5 Nov. 2019

Like medlar, these fruits were popular hundreds of years ago. —Washington Post, 5 Nov. 2019

Local favorites include apfelwein, akin to dry French cider; Gin Sieben, a Frankfurt-style gin infused with seven specific herbs, including borage and sorrel; and mispelchen, a brandy made with medlar, a persimmon-like fruit. —Adam Erace, Fortune, 30 June 2017

Word History

Etymology

Middle English medeler, from Anglo-French medler, from medle medlar fruit, from Latin mespilum, from Greek mespilon

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above