- a small widely cultivated Asian rosaceous tree, Cydonia oblonga, with pinkish-white flowers and edible pear-shaped fruits
- the acid-tasting fruit of this tree, much used in preserves
- Also: Japanese or flowering quince
another name for japonica
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
quince /kwɪns/USA pronunciation n.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- Plant Biology[countable] a small tree of the rose family, giving hard, yellowish fruit used for making preserves.
- Plant Biology[uncountable] the fruit of such a tree.
quince
(kwins),USA pronunciation n.
- Plant Biologyeither of two small trees, Cydonia oblonga or C. sinensis, of the rose family, bearing hard, fragrant, yellowish fruit used chiefly for making jelly or preserves.
- Plant Biologythe fruit of such a tree.
- Greek (mêlon) Kydó̄nion quince, literally, (apple) of Cydonia
- Latin cotōneum, akin to cydōnium
- Middle French cooin
- Middle English quince, apparently origin, originally plural (taken as singular) of quyne, coyn 1275–1325
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
quince /kwɪns/ n
'quince' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):