colocynth

US: (kol′ə sinth)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

col•o•cynth  (kol′ə sinth), n. 

1. Plant Biology a plant, Citrullus colocynthis, belonging to the gourd family, of the warmer parts of Asia, the Mediterranean region, etc., bearing a round, yellow or green fruit with a bitter pulp.
2. Plant Biology the fruit of this plant.
3. [Pharm.] the drug derived from the pulp of the unripe but full-grown fruit of this plant, used in medicine chiefly as a purgative. Also called bitter apple (for defs. 1, 2).

• Greek kolokynthís, variant of kolókyntha bitter gourd, bitter cucumber
• Latin colocynthis
• 1555–65