Main Entry: per·sim·mon

Pronunciation: \pər-ˈsi-mən\

Function: noun

Etymology: Virginia Algonquian pessemmin

Date: 1612

1 : any of a genus (Diospyros) of trees of the ebony family with hard fine wood, oblong leaves, and small bell-shaped flowers; especially : an eastern United States tree (D. virginiana) or a Japanese tree (D. kaki)
2 : the usually orange several-seeded globular berry of a persimmon that is edible when fully ripe but usually extremely astringent when unripe