avocado

See also: Avocado

English

An avocado

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin American Spanish avocado, from the earlier aguacate, which comes from Classical Nahuatl āhuacatl (“avocado”). (Can this⁽⁺⁾ etymology be sourced?) Doublet of abacate. Compare aguacatillo, avocadillo.

The first mention can be found in the 1696 catalogue of Jamaican plants.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ævəˈkɑːdəʊ/
• (General American) enPR: ăvəkäʹdō, IPA^(key): /ɑvəˈkɑdoʊ/, [ɑvəˈkɑɾoʊ], /ævəˈkɑdoʊ/, [ævəˈkɑɾoʊ]

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑːdəʊ

Noun

avocado (countable and uncountable, plural avocados or avocadoes)

2. The large, usually yellowish-green or black, savory fruit of the avocado tree.

   Synonyms: alligator pear, avocado pear, butter pear, butter fruit, abacate

4. The avocado tree, Persea americana, of the laurel family.
5. (chiefly uncountable) A dark chartreuse color, like the color of the skin of an avocado.

   avocado:  

   • 2016, Zadie Smith, Swing Time, New York, N.Y.: Penguin Press, →ISBN, page 57:

     It was exactly the same as my bathroom. Same cork floor, same avocado bathroom set.

Hypernyms

• fruit

Derived terms

• avocadoey
• avocado hand
• avocado latte
• avocadoless
• avocadolike
• avocado pear
• avocado toast
• avolatte
• crabocado
• Hass avocado

 

Descendants

• → Icelandic: avókadó
• → Irish: abhacád
• → Venda: ḽiafukhada
• → Welsh: afocado

Translations

fruit

• Afrikaans: avokado (af)
• Albanian: avokado
• Amharic: አቮካዶ (ʾävokado)
• Antillean Creole: zaboka, zabèlbòk
• Arabic: أَفُوكَادُو m (ʔafukādū)

  Egyptian Arabic: افوكاتو m pl (avokato)

  Hijazi Arabic: أفكادو m (afukādu, avukādu)

  Moroccan Arabic: أفوكا (ʔavuka)

• Asi: abokado
• Assamese: মাখন ফল (makhon phol)
• Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܐܲܦ̮ܘܿܟܵܕܘܿ m (afōkādō)
• Asturian: aguacate (ast) m
• Azerbaijani: avokado (az)
• Belarusian: авака́да n (avakáda)
• Bengali: এভোক্যাডো (ebhōkkaḍō), মাখন ফল (makhon phol)
• Breton: avoukez (br) pl
• Bulgarian: авока́до (bg) n (avokádo)
• Burmese: ထောပတ်သီး (my) (htau:patsi:)
• Catalan: alvocat (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 牛油果 (ngau⁴ jau⁴ gwo²)

  Hokkien: a-bu-kha-lo

  Mandarin: 鱷梨 / 鳄梨 (zh) (èlí), 酪梨 (zh) (làolí, luòlí), 牛油果 (zh) (niúyóuguǒ)

• Chol: oñ
• Cornish: avokado m
• Czech: avokádo (cs) n
• Danish: avocado (da) c, avokado c
• Dutch: avocado (nl) m
• Esperanto: avokado (eo)
• Estonian: avokaado (et)
• Faroese: avokado n
• Finnish: avokado (fi)
• French: avocat (fr) m
• Galician: aguacate (gl) m
• Georgian: ავოკადო (avoḳado)
• German: Avocado (de) f
• Greek: αβοκάντο (el) n (avokánto)
• Gujarati: માખણફળ (mākhaṇphaḷ)
• Hawaiian: pea
• Hebrew: אָבוֹקָדוֹ (he) m (avokado)
• Hindi: रुचिरा (hi) (rucirā), अवोकाडो m (avokāḍo), मक्खनफल (makkhanphal)
• Hungarian: avokádó (hu)
• Icelandic: lárpera f, avókadó (is) n
• Ido: avokado (io)
• Indonesian: alpukat (id), avokad (id)
• Irish: abhacád m, piorra abhcóide m
• Isthmus Zapotec: yaxhu
• Italian: avocado (it) m
• Jamaican Creole: pear
• Japanese: アボカド (ja) (abokado), 鰐梨 (わになし, waninashi)
• K'iche': oj
• Kabuverdianu: abakati, abakate
• Kapampangan: abukadu
• Kazakh: авокадо (avokado)
• Khmer: អាវ៉ូកាត៍ (km) (’aavookaa)
• Kikuyu: ikorobia class 5
• Korean: 아보카도 (ko) (abokado)
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: avokado (ku)

• Kyrgyz: авокадо (avokado)
• Lao: ໝາກອາໂວກາໂດ (māk ʼā wō kā dō)
• Latvian: avokado (lv) m
• Lithuanian: avokadas m
• Macedonian: авока́до n (avokádo)
• Malagasy: mpisolovava (mg)
• Malay: alpukat, avokado, apukat, pukat (ms)
• Malayalam: ആത്തച്ചക്ക (āttaccakka)
• Maltese: avokado m
• Maori: awhekātō, rahopūru (mi) (on account of its appearance), awakato
• Mongolian: авокадо (avokado)
• Nahuatl:

  Central : awakatl (Amecameca and Jaltocán), ahuacatli (Cholula), ahuacatl (Milpa Alta), auakatl (Tlaxcala), ahuakatl (Texcoco)

  Central Huasteca: auakatl

  Classical: ahuacatl

  Eastern Huasteca: awakatl

  Guerrero: auakatl

  Highland Puebla: awakat

  Orizaba: awakatl

  Western Huasteca: auakatl

• Navajo: chʼil akʼahí
• Northern Sami: avokádo
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: avokado (no) m

• Occitan: avocat (oc) m
• Persian: آووکادو (fa) (âvokâdo)
• Pipil: awakat
• Polish: awokado (pl) n, smaczliwka f (rare)
• Portuguese: abacate (pt) m
• Punjabi: ਮੱਖਣ ਫਲ (makkhaṇ phal)
• Purepecha: kupanda
• Quechua: palta
• Romansch: avocado m
• Russian: авока́до (ru) n (avokádo)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: авокадо

  Roman: avokado (sh) n

• Slovak: avokádo n
• Slovene: avokado (sl) n
• Somali: canbaruudda
• Spanish: aguacate (es) m, palta (es) f (Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Paraguay, Perú, Uruguay), cura (es) f (Colombia, dated), avocado (es) m, shunte m (Honduras)
• Swahili: parachichi
• Swedish: avokado (sv) c
• Tagalog: abokado (tl)
• Tajik: авокадо (avokado)
• Tamil: வெண்ணைப் பழம் (ta) (veṇṇaip paḻam)
• Tatar: авокадо (awoqado)
• Thai: อาโวคาโด (aa-woo-kaa-dôo), ลูกเนย (lûuk-nəəi)
• Tigrinya: ኣቮካዶ (ʾavokado)
• Tok Pisin: bata prut
• Tongan: 'âvoka
• Tsonga: ovhakhadi
• Turkish: avokado (tr)
• Turkmen: awokado
• Tz'utujil: ooj
• Ukrainian: авока́до (uk) n (avokádo)
• Urdu: مگر ناشپاتی m (magar nāśpātī)
• Uzbek: avokado (uz)
• Venda: ḽiafukhada
• Vietnamese: bơ (vi)
• Welsh: afocado (cy) m
• Yiddish: אַוואָקאַדאָ m (avokado)
• Yucatec Maya: oon

tree

• Antillean Creole: pyé zaboka, pyé zabèlbòk
• Asturian: aguacate (ast) m
• Bulgarian: авока́до (bg) n (avokádo)
• Catalan: alvocater m
• Classical Nahuatl: āhuacacuahuitl
• Dutch: avocadoboom (nl) m
• Esperanto: avokadarbo, avokadujo
• Finnish: avokado (fi), avokadopuu
• French: avocatier (fr) m
• Galician: aguacate (gl) m
• German: Avocado (de) f, Avocadobaum m
• Greek: αβοκάντο (el) n (avokánto)
• Ido: avokadiero (io)
• Irish: abhacád m, crann abhacád m
• Italian: avocado (it) m
• Jamaican Creole: pear
• Kabuverdianu: abakate, abakati
• Kikuyu: mũkorobia class 3
• Latvian: avokado (lv) m
• Macedonian: авока́до n (avokádo)
• Malay: pokok avokado
• Nahuatl:

  Central: ahuacacuahuitl (Amecameca, Cholula)

  Central Huasteca: auakakoauitl (Yahualica), auakakuauitl (Huejutla, Xochiatipan)

  Classical: ahuacacuahuitl

  Eastern Huasteca: awakakuawitl (Tantoyuca)

  Orizaba: awakakuawitl

• Norman: avocatchi m (Jersey)
• Polish: awokado (pl) n, smaczliwka f (rare)
• Portuguese: abacateiro (pt) m
• Romanian: avocado (ro) n
• Serbo-Croatian: avokado (sh)
• Spanish: aguacate (es) m, palto (es) m, shunte m (Honduras)
• Swahili: mparachichi
• Swedish: avokadoträd n
• Tamil: வெண்ணைப் பழ மரம் (veṇṇaip paḻa maram)
• Thai: อาโวคาโด (aa-woo-kaa-dôo)
• Tongan: 'âvoka
• Welsh: afocado (cy) m

color

• French: avocat (fr) m
• Irish: abhacád m, dath an abhacáid
• Malay: avokado
• Welsh: afocado (cy), lliw afocado

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Indonesian: ^{(please verify)} apokat, ^{(please verify)} alpukat (id), ^{(please verify)} alpokat (id)

Adjective

avocado (not comparable)

1. Of a dull yellowish-green colour.

Translations

Avocado-coloured

• French: avocat (fr)
• Ido: avokadea
• Malay: avokado
• Swedish: avokadofärgad

See also

• guacamole
• Appendix:Colors

Further reading

• avocado on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Persea americana on Wikispecies.Wikispecies
• Persea americana on Wikimedia Commons.Wikimedia Commons
• avocado at USDA Plants database
• Michael Quinion (2004) “Avocado”, in Ballyhoo, Buckaroo, and Spuds: Ingenious Tales of Words and Their Origins, Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Books in association with Penguin Books, →ISBN.
• cookbook:avocado on Wikibooks.Wikibooks

Danish

Alternative forms

• avokado

Etymology

From Spanish aguacate, from Nahuatl āhuacatl (“avocado”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [aʋoˈkʰæːd̥o]

Noun

avocado c (singular definite avocadoen, plural indefinite avocadoer)

1. avocado

Inflection

Declension of avocado

common gender	Singular		Plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	avocado	avocadoen	avocadoer	avocadoerne
genitive	avocados	avocadoens	avocadoers	avocadoernes

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish avocado.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌaː.voːˈkaː.doː/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: avo‧ca‧do

Noun

avocado m (plural avocado's)

1. avocado, alligator pear

Derived terms

• avocadoboom

Descendants

• → Indonesian: avokad
• → Sranan Tongo: afkati

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a.voˈka.do/
• Rhymes: -ado
• Hyphenation: a‧vo‧cà‧do

Noun

avocado m (invariable)

1. avocado

Portuguese

Participle

avocado (feminine avocada, masculine plural avocados, feminine plural avocadas)

1. past participle of avocar

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from English avocado.

Noun

avocado m (plural avocado)

1. avocado

Declension

	singular			plural
	indefinite	definite		indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	avocado	avocadoul		avocado	avocadoi
genitive-dative	avocado	avocadoului		avocado	avocadolor
vocative	avocadoule			avocadolor

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /aboˈkado/ [a.β̞oˈka.ð̞o]
• Rhymes: -ado
• Syllabification: a‧vo‧ca‧do
• Homophone: abocado

Etymology 1

From aguacate, possibly influenced by a Caribbean language.

Noun

avocado m (plural avocados)

1. (Philippines, US) avocado

   Synonyms: aguacate, (Argentina, Chile, Peru, Uruguay) palta, (Colombia, dated) cura

Descendants

• → Asi: abokado
• → Cebuano: abokado
• → Danish: avocado, avokado
• → Dutch: avocado
  • → Indonesian: avokad
  • → Sranan Tongo: afkati
• → English: avocado
  • → Icelandic: avókadó
  • → Irish: abhacád
  • → Venda: ḽiafukhada
  • → Welsh: afocado
• → Faroese: avokado
• → French: avocat
• → German: Avocado
• → Italian: avocado
• → Hiligaynon: abokado
• → Serbo-Croatian: avokádo
• → Tagalog: abokado
• → Turkish: avokado

Etymology 2

Participle

avocado (feminine avocada, masculine plural avocados, feminine plural avocadas)

1. past participle of avocar

Further reading

• “avocado”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10