ginkgo

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a deciduous East Asian tree with distinctive fan-shaped leaves and fleshy seeds

   The ginkgo beside the library turned a brilliant yellow in autumn.

2. 2
   noun

   the edible seed of a ginkgo tree

   Roasted ginkgo is used in several East Asian dishes.

From Japanese ginkyo, from Chinese yinxing ("silver apricot"). Engelbert Kaempfer printed the form Ginkgo in 1712, apparently through a transcription or printing error; Linnaeus later adopted it as the botanical name, fixing the unusual spelling in European usage.

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