/ging"koh, jing"-/ , n. , pl. ginkgoes .
a large shade tree, Ginkgo biloba, native to China, having fan-shaped leaves and fleshy seeds with edible kernels: the sole surviving species of the gymnosperm family Ginkgoaceae, which thrived in the Jurassic Period, and existing almost exclusively in cultivation.
Also, gingko . Also called maidenhair-tree .
[ 1765-75; ginkyo, equiv. to gin silver ( kyo apricot ( ]