pineapple

Etymology

From Middle English pinappel (“pinecone”, literally “pine-apple/pine-fruit”), equivalent to pine + apple. Later applied to the fruit of the pineapple plant due to its resemblance to a pinecone. Compare the Middle Dutch and Dutch pijnappel, the Middle Low German pinappel, the Old High German pīnapful, the Middle High German pīnaphel, and the early Modern German pinapfel — all in the sense of “pine cone”. Compare also the post-Classical Latin pomum pini, the Old French pume de pin, the Middle French and French pomme de pin and Spanish piña.

noun

1. A tropical plant, Ananas comosus, native to South America, having thirty or more long, spined and pointed leaves surrounding a thick stem.
2. The ovoid fruit of the pineapple plant, which has very sweet white or yellow flesh, a tough, spiky shell and a tough, fibrous core.
3. (uncountable) The flesh of a pineapple fruit used as a food item.
4. (slang) An Australian fifty dollar note.
5. A web burrfish (Chilomycterus antillarum, syn. Chilomycterus geometricus)
6. A light yellow colour, like that of pineapple flesh (also called pineapple yellow).
   pineapple:
7. (obsolete or dialectal) A pinecone; the cone of the fir.
8. A decorative carving of a pineapple fruit used as a symbol of hospitality.
9. (slang) A hand grenade. (From the similarity to the shape of a pineapple fruit.)
10. A hairstyle consisting of a ponytail worn on top of the head, imitating the leaves of a pineapple.