from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Papaw \Pa*paw"\, n. [Prob. from the native name in the West
Indies; cf. Sp. papayo papaw, papaya the fruit of the papaw.]
[Written also {pawpaw}.]
1. (Bot.) Same as {papaya}, senses 1 and 2.
[1913 Webster +PJC]
2. (Bot.) A tree of the genus {Asimina} ({Asimina triloba}),
growing in the western and southern parts of the United
States, and producing a sweet edible fruit; also, the
fruit itself. --Gray.
[1913 Webster]
from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
papaya \pa*pa"ya\, n. [Prob. from the native name in the West
Indies; cf. Sp. papayo papaw, papaya the fruit of the papaw.]
1. (Bot.) A tree ({Carica Papaya}) of tropical America,
belonging to the order {Passiflore[ae]}; called also
{papaw} and {pawpaw}. It has a soft, spongy stem, eighteen
or twenty feet high, crowned with a tuft of large,
long-stalked, palmately lobed leaves. The milky juice of
the plant is said to have the property of making meat
tender.
[1913 Webster +PJC]
2. The fruit of the papaya tree; it is a dull orange-colored,
melon-shaped fruit, which is eaten both raw and cooked or
pickled. The fruit contains {papain}, a protease.
[1913 Webster + PJC]