What does quince mean?
Quince is the edible fruit of a small deciduous tree, usually used in cooking rather than eaten raw. Its firm flesh is strongly tart and aromatic, but long simmering softens it and brings out a honeyed flavor. Because quince is rich in pectin, it is especially well suited to jams, jellies, pastes, and marmalade. The word can also name the tree and, less commonly, a preserve made from its fruit. In ordinary modern English, it is most likely to appear in cookery, food writing, or discussions of traditional preserves. An archaic verb meaning to turn something into a quince is recorded but has no place in contemporary usage. Quince is therefore both a concrete fruit and a marker of a recognizable culinary tradition: it signals an astringent ingredient transformed by heat and sugar into something mellow, glossy, and intensely fragrant.
The edible fruit of the quince tree, Cydonia oblonga; also the tree itself and, less commonly, a preserve made from the fruit.
"The cook simmered sliced quince with sugar to make a ruby-colored paste."
The fruit can be counted when individual quinces are meant and used as a mass noun when the fruit or its preparations are referred to generally.
To turn or transform something into a quince.
"The old alchemical text claimed that the rare metal could be quenced."
This verb is archaic and extremely rare in modern English.
Usually plural when referring to individual fruits; quince can also function as a mass noun for the fruit or its preparations.
"She stored the quinces in a cool pantry until autumn."
Quince carries a miniature Greek city in its name: its English word descends from a Greek term associated with ancient Kydon in Crete.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does quince come from?
The word entered Middle English through Old French coin, a borrowing of Latin cydonium. Latin cydonium came from Ancient Greek kydonion, usually connected with Kydon, an ancient city in Crete. The same etymological tradition produced cognates such as French coing, Italian cotogna, and German Quitte, while the botanical genus was named Cydonia.
Related word forms
How quince is actually used
In modern English, quince occurs chiefly in culinary, food-writing, and horticultural contexts. It is more familiar in preserves than as a fresh fruit. The verb is rare and archaic and is not part of ordinary contemporary usage.
Easily confused with quince
A quince is an edible fruit, whereas a quint is a set of five, especially in cards.