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to·ma·to

(tə-mātō, -mä-)

n. pl. to·ma·toes

1. A widely cultivated plant (Solanum lycopersicum syn. Lycopersicon esculentum)in the nightshade family, having edible, fleshy, usually red fruit. The tomato is native to and was first domesticated in northern South America.

2. The fruit of this plant.

[Alteration of Spanish tomate, from Nahuatl tomatl, fleshy globose fruit, tomatillo, tomato.]

to·mato·ey (-tō-ē) adj.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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