I. ˈcherē, -ri noun
( -es )
Etymology: Middle English chery, modification of Old North French cherise (taken as a plural), from Late Latin ceresia, from Latin cerasus cherry tree, cherry, from Greek kerasos cherry tree — more at cornel
1.
a. : any of numerous trees and shrubs of the genus Prunus that have pale yellow to deep red or blackish smooth-skinned nearly globular rather small fruits which are drupes enclosing a smooth seed and that include various improved forms cultivated for their fruits or for their ornamental flowers — see japanese flowering cherry , sour cherry , sweet cherry ; compare peach , plum
b. : the fruit of the cherry
c. : the reddish brown wood of any of the larger cherry trees (as the sweet cherry or the American black cherry) much used in cabinetmaking
2. : barbados cherry
3. : coffee cherry
4. : a variable color averaging a moderate red that is yellower, lighter, and stronger than cerise, claret (sense 3a), Turkey red, or average strawberry (sense 2a) and bluer, lighter, and stronger than catsup
5. slang
a. : hymen II
b. : virginity
6. : a milling cutter used to make small circular or spherical cavities (as in bullet molds)
7. : the knocking down of only the front pin or pins in trying for a spare in bowling
II. adjective
1. : of or resembling a cherry: as
a. : of the color cherry
cherry cheeks
b. : made of cherry wood
a cherry table
2. slang : virginal I 2
III. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-es )
: to mill with a cherry