cantaloup, -loupe
(ˈkæntəluːp)
Also cantalupe, -leup, canteleup, -lope, -loup, -lupe.
[a. F. cantaloup, ad. It. Cantalupo, the name of a former country seat of the Pope near Rome, where it is said, on its introduction from Armenia, to have been first cultivated.]
A small, round, ribbed variety of musk-melon, of a very delicate flavour.
| 1739 Miller Gard. Dict. II. s.v. Melo, The Cantaleupt [sic] Melon:..the Flesh..is of a rich vinous Flavour. 1763 Mills Pract. Husb. IV. 169 The Cantaleupe..is held in the greatest esteem by all the curious in Europe. 1777 Cowper Let. 23 Oct. (1904) I. 143 The melon is a crimson Cantalupe. 1786, 1813 [see rock n.1 9 e]. 1839 Penny Cycl. XV. 86/2 Varieties of melons..The Early Cantaloup. 1860 Emerson Cond. Life, Wealth Wks. (Bohn) II. 354 The cantaloupes, crooknecks, and cucumbers will send for him. 1863 Life in South II. 343 A fine cantalupe melon, at five cents. 1883 F. M. Crawford Dr. Claudius xiv, Behold also, his Grace eateth the cantelope. 1890 Daily News 18 Sept. 3/1 The very first item on the list is ‘iced cantaloupes’. 1929 Times 2 Aug. 14/1 Melon or bailer shells..are almost exactly the same shape, size and colour as rock melons, or canteloups. 1970 Natural History Feb. 18/3 Cantaloupes..produce a crop only occasionally. |