TAMARIND

tamarind, tamarindo

(noun) large tropical seed pod with very tangy pulp that is eaten fresh or cooked with rice and fish or preserved for curries and chutneys

tamarind, tamarind tree, tamarindo, Tamarindus indica

(noun) long-lived tropical evergreen tree with a spreading crown and feathery evergreen foliage and fragrant flowers yielding hard yellowish wood and long pods with edible chocolate-colored acidic pulp

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Noun

tamarind (countable and uncountable, plural tamarinds)

(botany) A tropical tree, Tamarindus indica.

(culinary) The fruit of this tree; the pulp is used as spice in Asian cooking and in Worcestershire sauce.

Other similar species

Diploglottis australis, native tamarind, a rainforest tree of Eastern Australia.

Garcinia gummi-gutta, Malabar tamarind, native to Indonesia.

A velvet tamarind (Dialium spp.).

(color) A dark brown colour, like that of tamarind pulp (also called tamarind brown).

Source: Wiktionary

Tam"a*rind, n. Etym: [It. tamarindo, or Sp. tamarindo, or Pg. tamarindo, tamarinho, from Ar. tamarhindi, literally, Indian date; tamar a dried date + Hind India: cf. F. tamarin. Cf. Hindoo.] (Bot.)

1. A leguminous tree (Tamarindus Indica) cultivated both the Indies, and the other tropical countries, for the sake of its shade, and for its fruit. The trunk of the tree is lofty and large, with wide- spreading branches; the flowers are in racemes at the ends of the branches. The leaves are small and finely pinnated.

2. One of the preserved seed pods of the tamarind, which contain an acid pulp, and are used medicinally and for preparing a pleasant drink. Tamarind fish, a preparation of a variety of East Indian fish with the acid pulp of the tamarind fruit.

– Velvet tamarind. (a) A West African leguminous tree (Codarium acutifolium). (b) One of the small black velvety pods, which are used for food in Sierra Leone.

– Wild tamarind (Bot.), a name given to certain trees somewhat resembling the tamarind, as the Lysiloma latisiliqua of Southern Florida, and the Pithecolobium filicifolium of the West Indies.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition