English 'papaya' from Spanish, from an Arawak or Carib language of the Caribbean — a tropical fruit whose enzyme papain tenderizes meat.
A tropical fruit with orange flesh, black seeds, and a sweet taste, from the Carica papaya tree.
From Spanish 'papaya,' from an indigenous Caribbean language — most likely Taino or a closely related Arawakan language of the Caribbean islands or the Caribbean coast of Central America. The Taino-speaking peoples of the Greater Antilles were the first to be encountered by Spanish colonists in the late 15th century, and many Caribbean plant names entered Spanish and then English from Taino: 'canoe,' 'hammock,' 'tobacco,' 'hurricane,' and 'cassava' are all Taino borrowings. The specific Taino or Arawakan form is not definitively reconstructed
Papaya contains the enzyme 'papain,' a powerful protein-digesting enzyme that literally breaks down meat — this is why papaya is used as a natural meat tenderizer in many cuisines. The name 'pawpaw' is sometimes used for papaya (especially in Australia), but in North America, 'pawpaw' refers to a completely different native fruit (Asimina triloba). Christopher Columbus reportedly called the papaya 'the fruit of the angels