{i} plant of East Indian origin that bears an edible fruit; egg-shaped fruit of the eggplant that is eaten as a vegetable and is usually a dark purple color (British)
hairy upright herb native to southeastern Asia but widely cultivated for its large glossy edible fruit commonly used as a vegetable
The North American word for aubergine is eggplant While there are many varieties grown in Asian, the term Chinese eggplant refers to the narrow, purple variety that can be streaked with white (it looks somewhat like a purple zucchini) Interestingly, Asian recipes don't normally call for eggplant to be salted and degorged, as is the custom in western and European cooking *Back to the Asian Culinary Dictionary An ever-growing index of Asian ingredients and cooking terms, from Abalone to Wood Ears
() French, from Catalan albergínia, from Arabic الباذِنْجان (al-baðinjān), the eggplant, from Persian بادنگان (bâdengân), from باتنگان (bâtengân), from Sanskrit वातिगगम (vātiga-gama, “eggplant”).