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noun · 1 syllable · /pruːn/

PRUNE

What does "PRUNE" mean?

A dried plum, or to trim away parts of a plant to improve its growth.

Meanings

  1. A plum that has been dried, eaten as fruit and known for aiding digestion. She stewed a few prunes for breakfast every morning.
  2. To cut away dead or overgrown branches and stems from a plant or tree. We prune the roses every winter so they bloom thicker in spring.
  3. To reduce something by removing what is unnecessary. The editor pruned the manuscript by a hundred pages. figurative

Did you know?

  • In 2000 the U.S. let the prune industry start calling its product 'dried plums' on labels, after research showed the word 'prune' sounded old to younger buyers.

Word origin

The fruit comes from Old French 'prune' ('plum'), from Latin 'pruna'; the verb 'to trim' is a separate word from Old French 'proignier' ('to clip'), the two only later sharing a spelling.

Remember it

PRUNE the noun is wrinkled; PRUNE the verb makes other plants tidy - both shed what's spent.

A little poem

Plum, then dried to creases-
or the blade that takes the dead wood
so the green can come.

haiku

Wordplay

  • The gardener and the grocer both said 'prune' - one meant cut it back, the other meant eat it dried.

What it teaches

Cutting away the spent and crowded is not loss; it is how the living part is fed.

Quick facts

What does PRUNE mean?

A dried plum, or to trim away parts of a plant to improve its growth.

Is PRUNE a valid word?

Yes — PRUNE is one of the answer words in Wordul, the daily word game.

How many letters is PRUNE?

PRUNE has 5 letters and 1 syllable.

Where does PRUNE come from?

The fruit comes from Old French 'prune' ('plum'), from Latin 'pruna'; the verb 'to trim' is a separate word from Old French 'proignier' ('to clip'), the two only later sharing a spelling.

What can PRUNE teach us?

Cutting away the spent and crowded is not loss; it is how the living part is fed.

How players do

Be the first to solve it.

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