pomelo

P3O1M3E1L1O1
UK/ˈpɒmɪləʊ/UK/ˈpʌmɪləʊ/UK/pəˈmɛləʊ/US/ˈpɑməloʊ/

noun

The large fruit of the Citrus maxima (syn. C. grandis), native to South Asia and Southeast Asia, with a thick green or yellow rind, a thick white pith, and semi-sweet translucent pale flesh.

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Meanings

nounpomelo (plural pomelos or pomeloes)

plural pomelos · plural pomeloes · alternative pommelo · alternative pumello · alternative pummelo · alternative obsolete pomello · alternative obsolete pomolo · alternative obsolete pumelo · alternative obsolete pummaloe · alternative obsolete pummelow

  1. The tree which produces this fruit.
  2. CaribbeanUSarchaicThe grapefruit.

    The pomelo has unfortunately been marketed under the name “grape-fruit,” and it is doubtful whether the correct name, pomelo, will ever displace the trade name.

    1911, Good Housekeeping Magazine, page 106
    4 more examples

    SHADDOCK, AND POMELO, OR GRAPE-FRUIT. (Citrus aurantium decumana.*) The cultivation of these fruits is extendiug gradually, especially of the pomelo, which is a first-class marketable fruit, very valuable in the spring and early summer.

    1888, Bulletin, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Division of Pomology, page 78

    Pomelo.* — Much larger than an orange and smaller than a shaddock; a delicious fruit, preferred by many to the orange. Skin smooth, pale yellow; subacid. The membrane dividing the pulp is bitter, and must be removed before eating the pulp. Also called "grape-fruit" from its habit of growing in clusters.

    1891, Bulletin No. 1-10, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Division of Pomology, page 79

    POMELO (syn. grape fruit).—A variety of shaddock; fruit very large, from two to five pounds each, pale yellow, resembling the citron; skin smooth; pulp sub-acid. / SHADDOCK.—Tree inclined to be dwarf; fruit very large, with smooth skin, pale yellow and very glossy; the rind is very thick and spongy, and very bitter; ornamental only

    1891 March, R M Lelong, “From Seed to Grove”, in The Great Southwest, page 3

    Pomelo (Citrus decumana) — The commercial term grape fruit is synonymous with pomelo, while shaddock, a term sometimes reserved for these fruits, is more properly applied to a large pyriform or necked variety of the pomelo. This variety sometimes reaches a weight of 15 pounds or more. Within the last few years the smaller pomelo has become very popular in Northern markets and extensive orchards are being rapidly set out in Florida, which is the state of largest production. The pomelo is somewhat larger than the orange and of a pale yellow color.

    1904, Earley Vernon Wilcox, Clarence Beaman Smith, Farmer's Cyclopedia of Agriculture, page 241

    Synonyms: grapefruit

Synonyms & antonyms

nounThe large fruit of the Citrus maxima (syn. C. grandis), native to South Asia and Southeast Asia, with a thick green or yellow rind, a thick white pith, and semi-sweet translucent pale flesh.

nounThe grapefruit.

Similar

More synonyms by meaning

nounsoutheastern Asian tree producing large fruits resembling grapefruits

Similar
pomelo treepummeloshaddockCitrus maximaCitrus grandisCitrus decumana
Broader
citruscitrus tree

nounlarge pear-shaped fruit similar to grapefruit but with coarse dry pulp

Similar
Broader
citruscitrus fruitcitrous fruit

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

Of uncertain etymology, though possibly a variant of earlier pampelmoes, from French, Dutch, Portuguese sources ultimately equivalent to "thick lemon" or transcribing the Tamil பம்ப ளிமாசு (pampa ḷimācu, “big citrus”). Alternatively, possibly from pome (“apple”) + melon or some cognate; though such a compound is currently unattested, some early variant spellings seem to show influence from pome.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic زَنْبُوع, بُومَلِيّ
  • زَنْبُوع (zanbūʕ)large fruit of the C. maxima or grandis
  • بُومَلِيّ (būmaliyy)large fruit of the C. maxima or grandis
  • زَنْبُوع (zanbūʕ)tree
  • بُومَلِيّ (būmaliyy)tree
Basque arabisagar, arabisagar arbola
  • arabisagarlarge fruit of the C. maxima or grandis
  • arabisagar arbolatree
Bengali জাম্বুরা
  • জাম্বুরা (jambura)large fruit of the C. maxima or grandis
Bulgarian помело
  • помело (pomelo)large fruit of the C. maxima or grandis
Catalan aranja grossa, pampelmussa
  • aranja grossalarge fruit of the C. maxima or grandis
  • pampelmussalarge fruit of the C. maxima or grandis
Chinese Cantonese 碌柚
  • 碌柚large fruit of the C. maxima or grandis
Chinese Mandarin 柚子
  • 柚子 (yòuzi)large fruit of the C. maxima or grandis
Czech pomelo
  • pomelolarge fruit of the C. maxima or grandis
Danish pomelo, pompelmus
  • pomelolarge fruit of the C. maxima or grandis
  • pompelmuslarge fruit of the C. maxima or grandis
Dutch pompelmoes
  • pompelmoeslarge fruit of the C. maxima or grandis
Esperanto pampelmuso
  • pampelmusolarge fruit of the C. maxima or grandis
Estonian pomel, pomelo
  • pomellarge fruit of the C. maxima or grandis
  • pomelolarge fruit of the C. maxima or grandis
Finnish pomelo, pummelo
  • pomelolarge fruit of the C. maxima or grandis
  • pummelolarge fruit of the C. maxima or grandis
  • pomelotree
French pomélo, pamplemoussier
  • pomélolarge fruit of the C. maxima or grandis
  • pamplemoussiertree
German Pomelo, Pampelmuse
  • Pomelolarge fruit of the C. maxima or grandis
  • Pampelmuselarge fruit of the C. maxima or grandis
  • Pampelmusetree
Greek φράπα
  • φράπα (frápa)large fruit of the C. maxima or grandis
Hebrew פומלו, פומלה
  • פומלוlarge fruit of the C. maxima or grandis
  • פומלה (pomela)large fruit of the C. maxima or grandis
Hindi चकोतरा
  • चकोतरा (cakotrā)large fruit of the C. maxima or grandis
Hungarian pomelo
  • pomelolarge fruit of the C. maxima or grandis
Indonesian jeruk bali
  • jeruk balilarge fruit of the C. maxima or grandis
Irish pomaló
  • pomalólarge fruit of the C. maxima or grandis
Italian pomelo, pampaleone
  • pomelolarge fruit of the C. maxima or grandis
  • pampaleonelarge fruit of the C. maxima or grandis
Japanese ブンタン, ザボン
  • ブンタン (buntan)large fruit of the C. maxima or grandis
  • ザボン (zabon)large fruit of the C. maxima or grandis
Korean 포멜로, 자몽
  • 포멜로 (pomello)large fruit of the C. maxima or grandis
  • 자몽 (jamong)large fruit of the C. maxima or grandis
Latvian pampelmūze, pomelo
  • pampelmūzelarge fruit of the C. maxima or grandis
  • pomelolarge fruit of the C. maxima or grandis
  • pampelmūzetree
  • pomelotree
Lithuanian didysis citrinmedis
  • didysis citrinmedislarge fruit of the C. maxima or grandis
Malay limau bali
  • limau balilarge fruit of the C. maxima or grandis
Norwegian pomelo
  • pomelolarge fruit of the C. maxima or grandis
Persian دارابی
  • دارابی (dârâbi)large fruit of the C. maxima or grandis
Polish pomarańcza olbrzymia, pomelo
  • pomarańcza olbrzymialarge fruit of the C. maxima or grandis
  • pomelolarge fruit of the C. maxima or grandis
  • szadoklarge fruit of the C. maxima or grandis
  • pomarańcza olbrzymiatree
  • pomelotree
  • szadoktree
Portuguese pomelo
  • pomelolarge fruit of the C. maxima or grandis
Romanian pomelo
  • pomelolarge fruit of the C. maxima or grandis
Russian поме́ло, поме́ло
  • поме́ло (pomɛ́lo)large fruit of the C. maxima or grandis
  • поме́ло (pomɛ́lo)tree
Spanish pampelmusa, pomelo
  • pampelmusalarge fruit of the C. maxima or grandis
  • pomelolarge fruit of the C. maxima or grandis
Swedish pompelmus, pomelo
  • pompelmuslarge fruit of the C. maxima or grandis
  • pomelolarge fruit of the C. maxima or grandis
Tagalog suha, lukban
  • suhalarge fruit of the C. maxima or grandis
  • lukbanlarge fruit of the C. maxima or grandis
  • suhatree
  • lukbantree
Tamil பம்பளிமாசு
  • பம்பளிமாசு (pampaḷimācu)large fruit of the C. maxima or grandis
Thai ส้มโอ
  • ส้มโอlarge fruit of the C. maxima or grandis
Ukrainian поме́ло, поме́ло
  • поме́ло (pomélo)large fruit of the C. maxima or grandis
  • поме́ло (pomélo)tree
Vietnamese bưởi
  • bưởilarge fruit of the C. maxima or grandis
Cite this entry
APA

pomelo. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pomelo

MLA

“pomelo.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pomelo. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pomelo,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pomelo.

Source: pomelo on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.