granadilla, grenadilla
(grænə-, grɛnəˈdɪlə)
Also 7 granadille, 7–8 -dil, 9 granadillo, grenadillo.
[a. Sp. granadilla, dim. of granada pomegranate.]
A name applied to various tropical species of the Passion-flower; esp. to Passiflora quadrangularis or its fruit, which is much esteemed as a dessert fruit.
| 1613 Purchas Pilgrimage (1614) 734 The flower of the Granadille they say..hath the markes of the Passion. 1707 Curios. in Husb. & Gard. 205 Granadils, or Passion-Flowers. 1741 Compl. Fam.-Piece ii. iii. 408 We have also..Granadilla, Guernsey Lilly [etc.]. 1760–72 tr. Juan & Ulloa's Voy. (ed. 3) I. 287 The granadilla resembles a hen's egg in shape, but larger. The outside of the shell is smooth and glossy, and of a faint carnation colour, and the inside white and soft. 1786 P. Freneau Santa Cruz 159 in Poems 139 Plump grenadilloes and güavas grey. 1803 T. Winterbottom Sierra Leone I. iii. 57 The [Sierra Leone] company have also introduced..the granadillo. 1825 Caldcleugh Trav. S. Amer. I. ii. 26 The fruit of the passion flower, or grenadilla of the Spaniards. 1859 R. Thompson Gardener's Assist. 33 Musas, Granadillas, Guavas, or other tropical plants bearing fruit. 1875 I. L. Bird Hawaii 134 Orange blossoms, and the great granadilla or passion flower. 1894 Times 31 Jan. 13/5 The tropical verandah, with the grenadillas trained along the latticework. |
b. attrib., as granadilla vine; also granadilla tree, the Brya Ebenus of Jamaica.
| 1756 P. Browne Jamaica 327 The Granadilla Vine. This plant..produces an agreeable cooling fruit. 1864 Grisebach Flora W. Ind. 784 Granadilla tree: Brya Ebenus. |