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