bitter melon

• bittermelon

Calque from Chinese 苦瓜 (kǔguā).

• IPA^(key): /ˈbɪtəɹ ˈmɛlən/

• Audio (General Australian):

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bitter melon (plural bitter melons)

1. A vine, Momordica charantia, which produces a bitter yet edible fruit.
   • 1896, The World and Its People, Book 7, Silver, Burdett, page 430:

     Bees often convey the pollen from the blossoms of a bitter melon vine to those of a sweet variety and completely change the character and flavor of its fruit.

2. The fruit of the bitter melon vine.
3. The colocynth, Citrullus colocynthis.
4. (Australia) A similar fruit-bearing vine, Citrullus lanatus (Citroides Group).

• balsam pear, bitter gourd, karela, cerasee (Jamaica)