bergamot

Definition

A tree of the orange family (Citrus × limon, syn. Citrus bergamia), having a roundish or pear-shaped fruit, from the rind of which an essential oil of delicious odor is extracted, much prized as a perfume.

Etymology

From French bergamote, from Italian bergamotta, from Ottoman Turkish بك آرمودی (beg armudu, literally “a lord's pear”), denoting a fattish kind of pear. The European word developed the sense of a fruit of a certain citrus cultivar in the late 17th century.

Example Sentences

• "The better hand […] gives the nose its bergamot."
• "One of my Neighbours has a Bergamot Pear Tree, that was brought from England in a Box , about the Year 1643"