korombot
English: Translation
wild passionfruit; stinking passionflower
English: Definition
A wild climbing vine bearing a small round fruit enclosed by numerous finely divided, bristly bracts. These bracts close, bunch, and tangle around the fruit, giving it the appearance of something clenched or crumpled within a hand. The ripe fruit contains edible pulp and numerous seeds.
Part of Speech
noun
Scientific Name
Passiflora fort ida L.
Notes
Semantic Domain
Plants; Vines; Wild edible fruits
Noun Class
plant
Notes
The plant is recognizable by the threadlike bracts surrounding its fruit. Their enclosing form resembles fingers closing around an object or material being bunched inside a fist.
Compare:
- kemes — close the hand; form a fist
- esadakemes — one fistful
- koromos — crumple or bunch something within the hand; by extension, grab and compress another person’s face
- kerepes — shriveled; contracted and wrinkled
Linguistic History
Tentative:
Related Entries
koromos; kemes; esadakemes; kerepes
Linguistic History
The name /korombot/ may belong to a Boie’nen expressive semantic family associated with closing, clenching, bunching, compression, and contracted form. Its resemblance to /koromos/ is especially suggestive because the plant’s bracts appear crumpled around the fruit, while /kemes/ provides the related image of a fist closing around something. The exact morphological relationship remains unverified.