ザボン

1709 is an early point for the related form ザンボ: Seisenban Nihon Kokugo Daijiten cites Yamato Honzo. The source is Portuguese zamboa, a citrus name. For ザボン itself, the same dictionary gives a later example from Kobei Nichiroku in 1860 with the spelling 座梵. The word belongs to the Nanban layer of fruit and trade terms. Japanese also used ザンボア, ジャガタラ蜜柑, 朱欒, and 文旦 for related citrus. Nipponica identifies the plant as Citrus maxima or Citrus grandis and notes that it was probably known in Japan by the 17th century. Cultivation became associated with warm regions such as Kyushu and Shikoku. Modern Japanese ザボン means a large citrus, often overlapping with 文旦. English usually says pomelo, and shaddock is another older English name. Portuguese zamboa can refer to a citrus similar to grapefruit or pomelo, and Priberam also records a Brazilian figurative sense. Example: ザボンを砂糖漬けにする.