Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun An evergreen tree (Litchi chinensis) native to China, cultivated for its bright red fruits with sweet white pulp surrounding a large seed.
  • noun The fruit of this tree.
  • noun The dried fruit of this tree.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Bot.) See litchi.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The Chinese tropical fruit tree Litchi chinensis, of the soapberry family.
  • noun That tree's bright red oval fruit with a single stone surrounded by a fleshy white aril.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun Chinese fruit having a thin brittle shell enclosing a sweet jellylike pulp and a single seed; often dried

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Mandarin lìzhī, from Middle Chinese liaj` tʂi : liaj`, lychee + tʂi, branch.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Cantonese.

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Examples

  • Another fruit of Asian origin, lychee is a member of the soapberry family.

    Exotic summer refreshment: a guide to Mexico's tropical fruit 2007

  • Another fruit of Asian origin, lychee is a member of the soapberry family.

    Exotic summer refreshment: a guide to Mexico's tropical fruit 2007

  • Well, a lychee is a rare sub-tropical fruit originating in South China where the lychee is very important in their culture and is famed as "the King of Fruits".

    Lychee Martini - Cocktail or Virgin, You pick! 2007

  • Well, a lychee is a rare sub-tropical fruit originating in South China where the lychee is very important in their culture and is famed as "the King of Fruits".

    Archive 2007-08-01 2007

  • This area is dominated by great clumps of timber bamboo towering 50 feet or more in height next to a grove of Asian fruits such as lychee, rambutan and star fruit.

    Naples Daily News Stories 2010

  • Lychee Pork 荔枝肉 The "lychee" in this dish is actually pork.

    Chinalyst - China blogs in English thebeijinger 2010

  • In Hong Kong, there are specialty cocktails like the Ning sling, a brew of mandarin orange vodka, lychee liqueur, mint leaves, and passion fruit.

    The English Is Coming! Leslie Dunton-Downer 2010

  • In Hong Kong, there are specialty cocktails like the Ning sling, a brew of mandarin orange vodka, lychee liqueur, mint leaves, and passion fruit.

    The English Is Coming! Leslie Dunton-Downer 2010

  • If you enjoy the Arctic chill, there is the Bermuda Triangle, a "brain freeze" slush with Cacha ç a, coconut and lychee that is a little like sticking your tongue to frozen metal, but a lot more fun.

    Sunshine in a Glass 2011

  • I'll have to take Mr. Turgeman's word that it also boasted notes of beeswax, ginger, rose water, Turkish Delight and lychee nuts.

    A Stinky Job, but... 2012

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