ˈkwin(t)s noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English quynce, plural, quinces, from quyn, coyn quince, from Middle French coin, cooin, from Latin cotoneum, cydoneum, cydonia, cydoneum ( malum ), from Greek kydōnion, probably from neuter of kydōnios Cydonian, from Kydōnia Cydonia, ancient city on the north coast of Crete
1. : the fruit of a widely cultivated central Asiatic tree ( Cydonia oblonga ) somewhat resembling a large yellow apple, differing in having many seeds in each carpel and a hard acid flesh that is used for marmalade, jelly, and preserves, and producing seeds that are covered with a mucilaginous material which is used in making a mucilage and in the preparation of toilet lotions
2. : the tree that bears quinces and is often used as a dwarfing stock for the pear — see chaenomeles , flowering quince
[s]quince.jpg[/s] [
quince 1
]