Wiktionary

ackee

English

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An open ackee (fruit)

Alternative forms

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Etymology

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Etymology tree
Akan akyebor.
English ackee

    Borrowed from Akan akye.

    Pronunciation

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    • IPA(key): /ˈækiː/, /əˈkiː/
    • Audio (Southern England):(file)
    • Rhymes: -iː (one pronunciation)

    Noun

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    ackee (countable and uncountable, plural ackees)

    1. A tropical evergreen tree, Blighia sapida, related to the lychee and longan.
      • 1883, Daniel Morris, chapter 7, in The Colony of British Honduras, Its Resources and Prospects‎[1], London: Edward Stanford, page 113:
        The beautiful Akee (Blighia sapida), originally brought from the West Coast of Africa by slave ships, is now a common tree in the West Indies, and I noticed several fine specimens in Belize.
      • 2009, Staceyann Chin, “In My Father’s House”, in The Other Side of Paradise‎[2], New York: Scribner, page 25:
        Delano and I are sprawled out under the ackee tree watching the black ants march from one rotten ackee pod to the next.
    2. The fruit of the tree, of which only the arils are edible, the remainder being poisonous.
      Ackee and saltfish is a traditional Jamaican dish.
      • 2004, Andrea Levy, chapter 7, in Small Island‎[3], London: Review, pages 104–105:
        The fleshy sacks that dangled down between his legs, like rotting ackees, wobbled.

    Translations

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    See also

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    Further reading

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    Anagrams

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    Jamaican Creole

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    Ackee

    Alternative forms

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    Etymology

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    Possibly from Akan aŋkye or Kuwaa a-kee.[1]

    Pronunciation

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    • IPA(key): /ˈakɪ/
    • Hyphenation: a‧ckee

    Noun

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    ackee (plural ackee dem, quantified ackee)

    1. An ackee.
      Nuttn nuh nice like ackee and saltfish an' fry dumplin' fi breakfast.
      There's nothing better than ackee and salted codfish with fried dumplings for breakfast.

    Usage notes

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    Not to be confused with Bajan ackee (Melicoccus bijugatus or its fruit; mamoncillo).

    References

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    1. ^ Richard Allsopp, editor (1996), Dictionary of Caribbean English Usage, Kingston, Jamaica: University of the West Indies Press, published 2003, →ISBN, page 9
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