quince  (kw ĭns)
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n.1. A shrub or small tree (Cydonia oblonga) in the rose family, native to western Asia, having white or pink flowers and hard yellow pear-shaped fruit. 2. The aromatic, many-seeded fruit of this plant, usually used for jelly or in cooked dishes.
[Middle English quynce, pl. of quyn, quince, from Old French cooin, from Latin cotōneum (mālum), quince (fruit), probably variant of cydōnium, from Greek dialectal kudōnion (mālon), alteration (influenced by Kudōniā, Cydonia, an ancient city of northwest Crete) of kodumālon.]  (click for a larger image) quinceCydonia oblonga |
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