Hi, Everybody,

While this might sound absurdly obvious, this question
is *not* a troll.

Technically speaking, what is the difference between a
fruit and a vegetable?

I looked it up at

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=fruit

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=vegetable

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=gourd

But it isn't quite clear.

I know that apples, oranges, bananas, and tomatoes are
considered fruits.

I *think* that lettuce, spinach, broccoli, couliflower
are vegetables.

But what about capsicum (bell pepper),
courgettes/zucchini, or cucumbers? I always thought
that they were vegetables, but they have seeds in them.
Are they technically fruit? What distinguishes a
gourd?


Can anyone tell me the plain-english rule on this?

Thanks in advance...