Meanings
plural tomatillos · plural tomatilloes
- A plant of the nightshade family originating in Mexico, Physalis philadelphica, cultivated for its tomato-like green to green-purple fruit surrounded by a thin papery skin.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounMexican annual naturalized in eastern North America having yellow to purple edible fruit resembling small tomatoes
nounannual of Mexico and southern United States having edible purplish viscid fruit resembling small tomatoes
nounsmall edible yellow to purple tomato-like fruit enclosed in a bladderlike husk
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Classical Nahuatltomatl
- Spanishtomatillo
- Englishtomatillo
Borrowed from Spanish tomatillo, diminutive of tomate (“tomato”), ultimately from Classical Nahuatl tomatl.
More words from Spanish, Classical Nahuatl
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Finnish tomatillo
- tomatilloPhysalis philadelphica
French tomatille
- tomatillePhysalis philadelphica
Polish miechunka pomidorowa
- miechunka pomidorowaPhysalis philadelphica
Spanish tomatillo, miltomate
- tomatilloPhysalis philadelphica
- miltomatePhysalis philadelphica
Cite this entry
tomatillo. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tomatillo
“tomatillo.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tomatillo. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tomatillo,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tomatillo.
Source: tomatillo on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.