In message , "David Horne,
_the_ chancellor (*)" writes
Stewart Robert Hinsley wrote:

In message , "David Horne,
_the_ chancellor (*)" writes
[]
I had fun trying to ID nisperos in English- as I only ever knew them by
the spanish name. It's loquat, but the Italian nespole (that's what they
were called in a market when we bought them in Rome) translates as
medlar fruit, which I don't think is the same thing- though related
IIRC?

You can think of a medlar (Mespilus) as a giant haw (Crataegus); loquats
(Eriobotrya) are also pome fruits, but so are apples, pears,
serviceberries, and quite a few other plants.

Interesting- I wonder why the 'confusion' in various language
dictionaries about this.

Googling tells me that loquats have also been known as Japanese medlars.
That's probably the source of the confusion.

One fruit I particularly like but don't see much in the UK shops is
grenadilla (is there an English name?). Divine! Lidl (of all places!)
was selling them a while back...

Yes, there is an English name; it is granadilla.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granadilla

Ah, thanks. I'd only referred to it before when talking in Spanish, and
it's the same spelling- my mistake!


James Nicoll's epigram applies -

"The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that
English is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. We don't just borrow
words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways
to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary"
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley