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Although “pomelo” in Spanish translates (typically) to “grapefruit”, “pomelo” in English refers to another fruit, that is like a grapefruit. Turns out English

Although “pomelo” in Spanish translates (typically) to “grapefruit”, “pomelo” in English refers to another fruit, that is like a grapefruit. Turns out English is surprisingly rich when it comes to describing citrus. The citrus family hybridizes very easily, so every planted seed will give you a “new species” with a unique cultivar. English appears to have assigned more unique names to citrus than the other two languages I know (Italian and Spanish)

mcv 6y ago
Citrus names across languages are a mess. For example, citron is the English name for one of the base fruits, which after several hibridisation steps with other fruits results in the lemon. Dutch name for lemon? Citroen. In French it's citron. The French word for the English citron is cédrat. Sukade in Dutch. The Dutch for pomelo is pompelmoes, while the pomelo is a hybrid between the pompelmoes and the grapefruit, and is called shaddock in English according to the Dutch Wikipedia.
- jdmichal 6y ago
  Mexican Spanish (might be a broader phenomenon) is another fun one. Limes are limónes and lemons are limas. So sopa de lima is chicken soup with lemons, not limes. However, this is how they map those terms to the varieties present in America. The actual lima is a citron x lemon variety that is not widely cultivated, and is maybe best substituted by Key limes. Which explains why the Mexican stores around me seem to always carry Key limes in addition to the Persian limes!
  - samatman 6y ago
    "true" limes (by which I mean, the Mexican limon is the species most often referred to by variations on "lime" in other places) have become fairly common in American groceries. Which is fortunate, they're tastier than the lime-lemon "Persian" lime hybrid, whose main virtue seems to be size. Key limes are the best though, I wish they would show up in my local grocery more often.

mcv 6y ago

Citrus names across languages are a mess. For example, citron is the English name for one of the base fruits, which after several hibridisation steps with other fruits results in the lemon. Dutch name for lemon? Citroen. In French it's citron. The French word for the English citron is cédrat. Sukade in Dutch. The Dutch for pomelo is pompelmoes, while the pomelo is a hybrid between the pompelmoes and the grapefruit, and is called shaddock in English according to the Dutch Wikipedia.

jdmichal 6y ago
Mexican Spanish (might be a broader phenomenon) is another fun one. Limes are limónes and lemons are limas. So sopa de lima is chicken soup with lemons, not limes. However, this is how they map those terms to the varieties present in America. The actual lima is a citron x lemon variety that is not widely cultivated, and is maybe best substituted by Key limes. Which explains why the Mexican stores around me seem to always carry Key limes in addition to the Persian limes!
- samatman 6y ago
  "true" limes (by which I mean, the Mexican limon is the species most often referred to by variations on "lime" in other places) have become fairly common in American groceries. Which is fortunate, they're tastier than the lime-lemon "Persian" lime hybrid, whose main virtue seems to be size. Key limes are the best though, I wish they would show up in my local grocery more often.