pomegranate

From Middle English pome garnate, pome granate, borrowed from Old French pomme grenate, from Medieval Latin pōmum (“fruit”) + grānātum (“having many seeds”).

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈpɒm.ɪˌɡɹæn.ɪt/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈpɑm.ɪˌɡɹæn.ɪt/

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pomegranate (plural pomegranates)

1. A fruit-bearing shrub or small tree, Punica granatum.
   • 2005, Fahiem E. El-Borai, Larry W. Duncan, 12: Nematode Parasites of Subtropical and Tropical Fruit Tree Crops, M. Luc, Richard A. Sikora, J. Bridge (editors), Plant Parasitic Nematodes in Subtropical and Tropical Agriculture, 2nd Edition, page 481,

     The pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) originates from Persia, and is cultivated in western and central Asia and in the Mediterranean region; it is also grown commercially in California. […] The predominant parasitic nematodes affecting pomegranate are the root knot nematodes, M.^{[Meloidogyne]} incognita, M. acrita and M. javanica (McSorley, 1981).

   • 2005, Payam Nabarz, The Mysteries of Mithras: The Pagan Belief That Shaped the Christian World, page 79,

     The pomegranate is the tree of knowledge in some myths. In others, it is linked with the underworld, […] .

   • 2008, M. N. V. Prasad, Trace Elements as Contaminants and Nutrients, page 225,

     In this experiment, the average Zn concentration of leaf in four pomegranate cultivars was between 12.0 and 19.8mg/kg in the control (Fig. 2a).

2. The fruit of Punica granatum, about the size of an orange and having a red pulp containing many seeds and enclosed in a thick, hard, reddish skin.
   • 2001, Vern L. Bullough (editor), Herbal Contraceptives and Abortifacients, Encyclopedia of Birth Control, page 125,

     The seeds of the pomegranate, for example, were widely used to prevent conception in the ancient world and they are still used in India, East Africa, and the Pacific.

   • 2005, Payam Nabarz, The Mysteries of Mithras: The Pagan Belief That Shaped the Christian World, page 79,

     Persephone is taken to the underworld by Hades to be his queen. She willingly eats a seed of pomegranate and is forced to spend every winter with her husband in the land of the dead, symbolizing the yearly decay and revival of vegetation.

     […]

     In Judaism, the number of seeds in a pomegranate is said to be the exact number of mitzvah, or spiritual duties required of a devout Jew.

   • 2006, Wayne Gisslen, Professional Cooking, College Version, page 683,

     The pomegranate is a subtropical fruit about the size of a large apple.

   • 2011, David Joachim, Fire It Up: 40 Recipes for Grilling Everything, page 310,

     The grilled leeks are then drizzled with a gorgeous, ruby-red pomegranate vinaigrette.

3. A dark red colour, like that of a pomegranate.

   pomegranate colour:  

• pomegranate molasses

• Socotra pomegranate (Punica protopunica)

• pom, pommy
• grenadine (drink made using pomegranates)
• grenade

• “pomegranate” in Douglas Harper, Online Etymology Dictionary, 2001–2019.

• magnoperate