trifoliate orange

noun

: a thorny Chinese tree (Poncirus trifoliata) of the rue family related to the citruses that has trifoliolate leaves and a sour yellow fruit resembling a small orange and that is grown for ornament or hedges or used as a rootstock for citrus fruits

Examples of trifoliate orange in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

It may have been grafted onto a trifoliate orange rootstock. —

Neil Sperry, San Antonio Express-News, 25 June 2021 An extremely easy-to-grow citrus is the trifoliate orange. —

Howard Garrett, Dallas News, 5 May 2020

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1900, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of trifoliate orange was circa 1900

See more words from the same year

Cite this Entry

Style

“Trifoliate orange.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/trifoliate%20orange. Accessed 29 Nov. 2024.

Copy Citation