from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Melon \Mel"on\ (m[e^]l"[u^]n), n. [F., fr. L. melo, for melopepo
an apple-shaped melon, Gr. mhlope`pwn; mh^lon apple + pe`pwn
a species of large melon; cf. L. malum apple. Cf.
{Marmalade}.]
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1. (Bot.) The juicy fruit of certain cucurbitaceous plants,
as the muskmelon, watermelon, and citron melon; also, the
plant that produces the fruit.
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2. (Zool.) A large, ornamental, marine, univalve shell of the
genus {Melo}.
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{Melon beetle} (Zool.), a small leaf beetle ({Diabrotiea
vittata}), which damages the leaves of melon vines.
{Melon cactus}, {Melon thistle}.
(a) (Bot.) A genus of cactaceous plants ({Melocactus})
having a fleshy and usually globose stem with the
surface divided into spiny longitudinal ridges, and
bearing at the top a prickly and woolly crown in which
the small pink flowers are half concealed. {Melocactus
communis}, from the West Indies, is often cultivated,
and sometimes called {Turk's cap}.
(b) The related genus {Mamillaria}, in which the stem is
tubercled rather than ribbed, and the flowers
sometimes large. See Illust. under {Cactus}.
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