‖ Doyenne1
(dwaˈjɛn)
Also Doyenné.
[ad. F. doyenné, in full poire de doyenné, lit. ‘deanery pear’.]
In full Doyenne pear. A variety of pear, esp. Doyenne du Comice, a large yellow late-fruiting pear, a favourite for cultivation.
| [1666 Evelyn Kal. Hort. (ed. 2) 107 Pears. The Squib-pear, Spindle-pear, Doyoniere, Virgin.] 1731 Miller Gard. Dict. (1733) s.v. Pyrus 35 Le Doyenné, i.e. The Deans Pear. 1822 Loudon Encycl. Gardening (1824) §4437 Doyenné. Synonym. Dean's pear. 1858 Trans. Ill. Agric. Soc. III. 338 Fine crops of White Doyenne and Bartlett. 1860 R. Hogg Fruit Manual 181 Fruit small, roundish-obovate, or Doyenné-shaped. 1872 Rep. Vermont Board Agric. 109 A yearly crop of the finest Doyenne pears, in size, colour and quality, of any I have ever seen. 1958 Listener 20 Nov. 853/2 The best [varieties of pears] I think are Williams' Bon Chrétien, Marie Louise, Doyenne du Comice, [etc.]. |