n.
Pronunciation: p ə r- ' si-m ə n
Function: noun
Etymology: Virginia Algonquian pessemmin
Date: 1612
1 : any of a genus ( Diospyros ) of trees of the ebony family with hard fine wood, oblong leaves, and small bell-shaped flowers especially : an eastern U.S. tree ( D. virginiana ) or a Japanese tree ( D. kaki )
2 : the usually orange several-seeded globular berry of a persimmon that is edible when fully ripe but usually extremely astringent when unripe