An
eggplant or
aubergine is either of two species of
nightshade,
Solanum melongena and
S. esculentum, bearing large pendulous purple or white edible fruit.
Although aubergine is the English name given to this fruit, it is often invoked to describe other objects with a dark plum-colour.
The word "melongena" is from the Sanskrit "vatinganah", which has produced a number of names for this plant in various languages: brinjal, badingan, melongena, melenzana, berenjena, albergínia, aubergine, brown-jolly, and mad-apple (misinterpretation of Italian "melenzana" as "mala insana").
See Moussaka[?] (Greek cuisine), Mutabal[?] (Lebanese cuisine), Escalivada (Catalan cuisine)
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