Etymology From Middle English chery, cherie, chirie, from Anglo-Norman cherise (mistaken as a plural) and Old English ċiris, ċirse (“cherry”), from Proto-West Germanic *kirsijā, from Vulgar Latin ceresia, derived from Late Latin ceresium, cerasium, from Ancient Greek κεράσιον (kerásion, “cherry fruit”), from κερασός (kerasós, “bird cherry”), and ultimately possibly of Anatolian origin (the intervocalic σ suggests a pre-Greek origin for the word). Doublet of cerise, Giresun, and kirsch.
A small fruit, usually red, black or yellow, with a smooth hard seed and a short hard stem.
2
Prunus subg. Cerasus, trees or shrubs that bear cherries.
3
The wood of a cherry tree.
4
Cherry red.
5
The fruit of the coffee plant, containing the seeds or beans.
6
Slang Virginity, especially female virginity as embodied by a hymen.
"Well, Dangerfield, in less than an hour I'm off in search of my fortune. Jesus, I'm excited, like I was going to lose my cherry. Woke up this morning with an erection that almost touched the ceiling."1965 [1955], J. P. Donleavy, The Ginger Man, New York: Delacorte Press, page 39:
Nothing stands in your way when you're a boy / Clothes always fit ya / Life is a pop of the cherry when you're a boy1979, David Bowie, Brian Eno, “Boys Keep Swinging”, in Lodger, performed by David Bowie:
2 more examples
Philips—Sergeant Gerheim's black, silver-tongued House Mouse—is telling everybody about the one thousand cherries he has busted.1979, Gustav Hasford, The Short-Timers, New York: Bantam Books, published 1980, →ISBN, page 20:
So what bitch, I busted your cherry – / Hell fucking no, I don’t wanna git married1986, “Short Side (Blow Job Betty)” (track 5, 6:36–6:43 from the start), in Too Short (lyrics), Raw, Uncut and X-Rated:
Non-isomorphism is detected whenever the algorithm finds a cherry v#95;1#92;inT#95;12004, Suleyman Cenk Sahinalp, S Muthukrishnan, Ugur Dogrusoz, Combinatorial Pattern Matching, Berlin […] : Springer-Verlag, →ISBN, →ISSN, page 210:
Step 3: Output the tree T. The edge lengths of T are determined recursively: If (x,y) is a cherry connected to node z as in Step 22005, Lior Pachter, Bernd Sturmfels, Algebraic Statistics for Computational Biology, Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 74:
The Indians have to get early wickets on the morrow and they will have the option of taking the new cherry.2000, Woorkheri Raman, “Indians adopt safety first tactics”, in ESPNcricinfo, archived from the original on 07 Jul 2022, retrieved 25 Nov 2024:
Players are back out and it's Harmison to have first go with the cherry.2007, Ben Dirs, “England v West Indies 1st Test”, in BBC Sport, archived from the original on 09 Apr 2016, retrieved 25 Nov 2024:
A round, red light of the kind that is typically mounted on top of a police car.
"What do you think?" he asked as he wove through traffic, matching Sanford's speed but without the benefit of a flashing cherry on the roof of his car.2009, Sandra Brown, Smash Cut, New York: Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, page 249:
“This is a cartel operation,” Hackett said as Larson activated the dash-mounted cherry2011, Rick Mofina, In Desperation, Don Mills, Ontario: MIRA, →ISBN, page 44:
11
The burning tip of a cigarette.
I'm horrified: Dag is burning holes in the roof of the car with the cherry of his cigarette.1991, Douglas Coupland, “Celebrities Die”, in Generation X, New York: St. Martin's Press, →OCLC, page 115:
bitter cherry(Please check if this is already defined at target. Replace with a regular link if already defined. Add novern=1 if not defined.), clove cherry, cyclamen cherry, duke cherry, dwarf cherry, evergreen cherry, fire cherry, greyleaf cherry, heart cherry, hollyleaf cherry, humble bush cherry, laurel cherry, steppe cherry, sweet cherry, wild cherry
cherry
adj
Etymology From Middle English chery, cherie, chirie, from Anglo-Norman cherise (mistaken as a plural) and Old English ċiris, ċirse (“cherry”), from Proto-West Germanic *kirsijā, from Vulgar Latin ceresia, derived from Late Latin ceresium, cerasium, from Ancient Greek κεράσιον (kerásion, “cherry fruit”), from κερασός (kerasós, “bird cherry”), and ultimately possibly of Anatolian origin (the intervocalic σ suggests a pre-Greek origin for the word). Doublet of cerise, Giresun, and kirsch.
1
Containing or having the taste of cherries.
2
Of a bright red color; cherry red.
3
Informal, Often, Of cars In excellent condition; mint condition.
A few years earlier, I’d restored my ’65 Mustang convertible to cherry condition—fire engine red, with matching tuck-and-roll—and I wasn’t surprised that it drew attention.2003, John Morgan Wilson, Blind Eye, New York, N.Y.: St. Martin’s Press, →ISBN, page 108:
All of my action figures are cherry2006, “White & Nerdy”, in "Weird Al" Yankovic (lyrics), Straight Outta Lynwood, performed by "Weird Al" Yankovic:
Etymology From Middle English chery, cherie, chirie, from Anglo-Norman cherise (mistaken as a plural) and Old English ċiris, ċirse (“cherry”), from Proto-West Germanic *kirsijā, from Vulgar Latin ceresia, derived from Late Latin ceresium, cerasium, from Ancient Greek κεράσιον (kerásion, “cherry fruit”), from κερασός (kerasós, “bird cherry”), and ultimately possibly of Anatolian origin (the intervocalic σ suggests a pre-Greek origin for the word). Doublet of cerise, Giresun, and kirsch.
1
Dated, Obsolete To redden; to infuse a cherrylike color to something.