aubergine
noun
- type of plant, Solanum melongena
- vegetable, the fruit of the plant of the same name
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˈəʊ.bə.ʒiːn/ / /ˈoʊ.bɚ.ʒin/ / /ɔbə(r).(d)ʒin/
noun
Etymology: Unadapted borrowing from French aubergine, from Catalan albergínia, from Arabic اَلْبَاذِنْجَان (al-bāḏinjān, “the aubergine”), from Classical Persian بَادِنْجَان (bādinjān), from بَاتِنْگَان (bātingān), from Sanskrit वातिङ्गण (vātiṅgaṇa, “the plant that cures the wind”), from Dravidian, ultimately from Proto-Dravidian *waẓVtV. Cognate with Malayalam വഴുതനങ്ങ (vaḻutanaṅṅa), Hindi बैंगन (baiṅgan). Doublet of brinjal.
- An Asian plant, Solanum melongena, cultivated for its edible purple, green, or white ovoid fruit; eggplant.
- The fruit of this plant, eaten as a vegetable.
“The hot and sour curry is an aubergine version of a south Indian fish curry I often make. […] You barbecue a few aubergines until the skin is completely black and burned, then cool and peel.”
- A dark purple colour; eggplant.