CHERRY


Meaning of CHERRY in English

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

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.