/av'euh kah"doh, ah'veuh-/ , n. , pl. avocados .
1. Also called alligator pear . a large, usually pear-shaped fruit having green to blackish skin, a single large seed, and soft, light-green pulp, borne by the tropical American tree Persea americana and its variety P. adrymifolia, often eaten raw, esp. in salads.
2. the tree itself.
[ 1690-1700; alter. of Sp abogado lit., lawyer (see ADVOCATE), by confusion with MexSp aguacate ahuacatl avocado, testicle; cf. ALLIGATOR PEAR ]