prune

Meaning

Verb

To become wrinkled like a dried plum, as the fingers and toes do when kept submerged in water.

Noun

1. (obsolete) A plum.
2. The dried, wrinkled fruit of certain species of plum.
3. (figuratively) Something wrinkly like a prune.
4. (slang) An old woman, especially a wrinkly one.

Synonyms

trim

cut

lop

clip

plum

cut down

cut off

dried plum

dress

👗

cut off branches

crop

chop

lop off

cut back

break off

reap

chop off

shear

shorten

snip

pollard

rationalise

rationalize

harvest

reduce

peel

pick

⛏️

pluck

preserves

put down

razee

retrench

scale down

shrink

simpleton

space

stool

terrace

thin out

tiller

top

🔝

whittle down

make an opening

cut and hang down

cut shorter

leave space

prunus salicina

stair step

abbreviate

prune-purple

Translations

élaguer

pruneau

potare

prugna secca

podar

prugna

Pflaume

Backpflaume

beschneiden

snoeien

stutzen

prune

ameixa

podar

schneiden

Pronounced as (IPA)

/pɹuːn/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: prune

Inherited from Middle English: prunen

In summary

From Middle English prune, from Old French prune, from Vulgar Latin *prūna, feminine singular formed from the neutral plural of Latin prūnum, from Ancient Greek προῦνον (proûnon), variant of προῦμνον (proûmnon, “plum”), a loanword from a language of Asia Minor. Doublet of plum.