tomato

English Online Dictionary. What means tomato‎? What does tomato mean?

English

Alternative forms

• tomater (eye dialect)
• 'mater (Southern US, Appalachia, informal)

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish tomate, from Classical Nahuatl tomatl, from Proto-Nahuan *tomatl. Compare tomatillo.

Pronunciation

• (UK, General Australian) IPA^(key): /təˈmɑː.təʊ/
• (US) IPA^(key): /təˈmeɪ.toʊ/
• (Canada) IPA^(key): [tʰəˈmeɪɾo], [tʰəˈme(ː)to(ː)], [tʰɵ-], [-ma-]
• (South Asia) IPA^(key): /ʈoˈmæʈo/
• Rhymes: -ɑːtəʊ, -eɪtəʊ, -ætəʊ

Noun

tomato (countable and uncountable, plural tomatoes)

2. A widely cultivated plant, Solanum lycopersicum, having edible fruit.
4. The savory fruit of this plant, red when ripe, treated as a vegetable in horticulture and cooking.

   Synonyms: (informal) love apple, (obsolete) wolf's peach

   Meronym: lycopene

   • 1990, JSG Trading Corp. v. Tray-Wrap, Inc., 917 F.2d 75 (2d Cir. 1990)

     In common parlance tomatoes are vegetables, as the Supreme Court observed long ago [see Nix v. Hedden 149 U.S. 304, 307, 13 S.Ct. 881, 882, 37 L.Ed. 745 (1893)], although botanically speaking they are actually a fruit. [26 Encyclopedia Americana 832 (Int'l. ed. 1981)]. Regardless of classification, people have been enjoying tomatoes for centuries; even Mr. Pickwick, as Dickens relates, ate his chops in "tomata" sauce.

5. A shade of red, the colour of a ripe tomato.

6. (slang) A desirable-looking woman.
   • 2015 https://www.bustle.com/articles/116384-19-old-fashioned-compliments-we-should-bring-back 19 Old-Fashioned Compliments We Should Bring Back]

     That shirt makes you look like such a glorious tomato.
7. (slang) A stupid act or person.

Hypernyms

• fruit, vegetable (see tomato § Fruit versus vegetable)
  • berry

Derived terms

Related terms

• tomatillo

Descendants

Translations

Verb

tomato (third-person singular simple present tomatos, present participle tomatoing, simple past and past participle tomatoed)

1. (transitive, rare) to pelt with tomatoes
2. (transitive, rare) to add tomatoes to (a dish)

Amis

Etymology

Borrowed from Japanese トマト (tomato), from English tomato.

Noun

tomato

1. tomato

References

• “Entry #537900”, in 阿美語中部方言辭典 [Dictionary of the Central Dialect of Amis]‎^[1] (in Chinese), Taiwan: Council of Indigenous Peoples, 2021

Chichewa

Etymology

Borrowed from English tomato.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /toˈmá.to/

Noun

tomáto class 1a

1. tomato

   Synonyms: phwetekere, matimati

Esperanto

Etymology

From Russian томат (tomat), German Tomate, English tomato, French tomate, all from Spanish tomate, from Classical Nahuatl tomatl.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [toˈmato]
• Rhymes: -ato
• Hyphenation: to‧ma‧to

Noun

tomato (accusative singular tomaton, plural tomatoj, accusative plural tomatojn)

1. tomato (fruit)
2. tomato plant (Solanum lycopersicum)

Derived terms

• tomata (“made of or related to tomatoes”, adjective)

Iban

Etymology

Borrowed from English tomato.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tomato/

Noun

tomato

1. tomato

Ido

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /toˈmato/
• Rhymes: -ato

Noun

tomato (plural tomati)

1. tomato

Japanese

Romanization

tomato

1. Rōmaji transcription of トマト

Swahili

Etymology

Borrowed from English tomato.

Pronunciation

Noun

tomato (n class, plural tomato)

1. tomato

   Synonym: nyanya

Tok Pisin

Etymology

From English tomato.

Noun

tomato

1. tomato

Welsh

Etymology

Borrowed from English tomato, from Spanish tomate, from Classical Nahuatl tomatl.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tɔˈmatɔ/

Noun

tomato m (plural tomatos)

1. tomato

   Synonym: afal cariad

Derived terms

• tomato bach melys (“cherry tomato”)

Mutation

Further reading

• R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “tomato”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies