pomegranate

/ˈpɒmɪ(ˌ)ɡɹænɪt/

pomegranate means of a colour like that of the pulp or skin of a pomegranate fruit; dark red or orange-red.

pomegranate is pronounced /ˈpɒmɪ(ˌ)ɡɹænɪt/.

Why “pomegranate” is a great word

A dark red or orange-red color, or the fruit of the Punica granatum tree, a thick-skinned, many-seeded berry with sweet-tart, red pulp. From Middle English *pome-garnet*, from Anglo-Norman and Old French *pome grenate*, from Medieval Latin *pōmum grānātum* ("seeded apple"), from Latin *pōmum* ("fruit, apple") + *grānātum* ("pomegranate," from *grānus* meaning "grain, seed"). Unlike "crimson," a deep, cool-leaning red, or the generic "berry," pomegranate is a name freighted with specific hue and substance: a color that leans toward burnt sunset, a fruit that is a labyrinth of jewels. It is the satisfying *thock* of a knife piercing the leathery rind, the glistening cascade of ruby arils into a bowl, the stubborn, sanguine stain on a linen napkin—a reminder that the sweetest things are often the most difficult to parcel, and that beauty resides in compartmentalized, fragile sacs, each containing a seed.

Etymology

The noun is derived from Middle English pome-garnet, pome-garnete, pome garnate, pome granat, pome-granate (“pomegranate fruit; pomegranate tree; pomegranate seeds (?)”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman pome gernate, pomme gernette, Middle French pomme granade, pomme granate, pomme grenade, and Old French pome grenade, pome grenate, pomme grenate [and other forms] (modern French grenade), probably from Italian pomogranato, pomo granato (though apparently first attested later), and then either: * from Italian pomo (“fruit, pome; apple”) + Latin (mālum) grānātum, (mālo)grānātum (“pomegranate”); or * directly from Medieval Latin pōmum garnātum, pōmum grānātum (“pomegranate”), from Latin pōmum (“fruit; fruit tree”) + grānātum (“pomegranate”). Pōmum is possibly ultimately derived from Proto

adj

Of a colour like that of the pulp or skin of a pomegranate fruit; dark red or orange-red.“Many people would think Miss Wilcox, standing there in her blue merino dress and pomegranate ribbon, a very agreeable woman.”

noun

The fruit of the Punica granatum, about the size of an orange with a thick, hard, reddish skin enclosing many seeds, each with an edible pink or red pulp tasting both sweet and tart.“Here the blue fig with luſcious juice o'erflows, / With deeper red the full pomegranate glows, / The branch here bends beneath the weighty pear, / And verdant olives flouriſh round the year.”
The shrub or small tree that bears the fruit.“I finish'd this day with a walke in the greate garden of the Thuilleries, which is rarely contrived for privacy, shade, or company, by groves, plantations of tall trees, especialy that in yᵉ middle, being of elmes, another of mulberys. There is a labyrinth of cypresse, noble hedges of pomegranates, fountaines, fishponds, and an aviary.”
A dark red or orange-red colour, like that of the pulp or skin of a pomegranate fruit.
A person of British descent, especially one who has (recently) immigrated to Australia; a pom, a pommy.

Words closest in meaning

By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.

balaustine 81% match — The red roselike flower of the pomegranate, having a bitter taste and sometimes used as an astringent in folk medicine. vs pomegranate →
scarlet 79% match — A brilliant red colour sometimes tinged with orange. vs pomegranate →
crimson 79% match — A deep, slightly bluish red. vs pomegranate →
cerise 79% match — A deep, bright red colour tinted with pink. vs pomegranate →
pomona 79% match — A treatise on fruits. vs pomegranate →
marmalade 79% match — A kind of jam made with citrus fruit, distinguished by being made slightly bitter by the addition of the peel and by partial caramelisation during manufacture. Most commonly made with Seville oranges, and usually qualified by the name of the fruit when made with other types of fruit. vs pomegranate →
auburn 78% match — A dark reddish-brown colour, often used to describe hair colour. vs pomegranate →
baobab 78% match — A tree, Adansonia digitata, native to tropical Africa, having a broad swollen trunk and edible gourd-like hanging fruits. vs pomegranate →