fruit – English noun declension

English noun forms of fruit

Noun: fruit
Singularfruit
Pluralfruits

Sample Sentences

  • [A]fter the flower is past commeth the fruit in long pods, every seede bunching out like the pods of Orobus and as bigge almost as the smaller Pease. [1640, John Parkinson, Theatrum botanicum: the Theater of Plants; or, An Herball of a Large Extent, London, page 1063:]
  • It’s true that agriculture at the time was organic, food was locally produced and there were no ultraprocessed foods. But fresh fruits and vegetables were in short supply because they were difficult to ship and because growing seasons were so short. [2025 January 13, Gina Kolata, “Have Americans Ever Really Been Healthy?”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 14 Jan 2025:]
  • His long nights in the office eventually bore fruit when his business boomed and he was given a raise.
  • He spent his retirement enjoying the fruits of his labour.
  • the fruit of rashness [c. 1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i]:]
  • They shall eat the fruit of their doings. [1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Isaiah 3:10:]
  • The fruits of this education became visible. [1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter XX, in The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume (please specify |volume=I to V), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC:]
  • It is incontestably the case that future generations enjoyed the extraordinary fruits of the Industrial Revolution’s “great enrichment”. [2019 July 11, John Thornhill, “Does tech threaten to rerun the worst of the Industrial Revolution?”, in Financial Times:]
  • fresh-squeezed fruit juice
  • a fruit salad
  • an artificial fruit flavor
  • a fruit tree
  • "Moishe just checked in," he said. "He's a panhandler and a fruit. A disgrace to the Jewish race." [1977 [1953], William S. Burroughs, edited by Allen Ginsberg, Junky, Penguin Books, →ISBN, page 66:]
  • I'm not talking to this twisted fruit anymore! [1984, This is Spinal Tap, spoken by Ian Faith (Tony Hendra):]
  • Aww, but he's so cute! / He's a fruit… Oh my fucking god! You will not believe who was here today! [1997, Daniel Clowes, “Garage Sale”, in Ghost World, Jonathan Cape, published 2000, →ISBN, page 15:]
  • The litter was the fruit of the union between our whippet and their terrier.
  • fruit of one's loins
  • King Edward's fruit, true heir to the English crown [c. 1591–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Third Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iv]:]
  • And she spake out with a loud voyce, and saide, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruite of thy wombe. [1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Luke 1:42:]

Etymology

1. Etymology tree
2. Proto-Indo-European *bʰruHg-
3. Proto-Italic *frūgjōr
4. Latin fruor
5. Proto-Indo-European *-tus
6. Proto-Italic *-tus
7. Latin -tus
8. Latin frūctus
9. Old French fruitbor.
10. Middle English fruyt
11. English fruit
12. From Middle English fruyt, frut (“fruits and vegetables”), from Old French fruit (“produce, fruits and vegetables”), from Latin fruitus (“enjoyment, proceeds, profits, produce, income”), frūctus and frūx (“crop, produce, fruit”) (compare Latin fruor (“have the benefit of, to use, to enjoy”)).
13. Cognate with English brook (“to bear, tolerate”) and German brauchen (“to need”). Partially displaced native Old English wæstm, ofett and æppel (whence modern ovest and apple).
14. Compare Dutch vrucht, German Frucht, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish frukt, Danish frugt.
15. In the derogatory senses of “crazy person” and “homosexual or effeminate man”, possibly a shortening of fruitcake, or of independent origin, compare Fruit (slang). See: Middle English Nouns 'fruyt', Latin Nouns 'fruitus', Latin Nouns 'fruor', English Nouns 'brook', Dutch Nouns 'vrucht', German Nouns 'Frucht', Danish Nouns 'frugt'.