\Pa*paw"\, n. [Prob. from the native name in the West
Indies; cf. Sp. papayo papaw, papaya the fruit of the papaw.]
[Written also {pawpaw}.]
1. (Bot.) A tree ({Carica Papaya}) of tropical America,
   belonging to the order {Passiflore[ae]}. It has a soft,
   spongy stem, eighteen or twenty feet high, crowned with a
   tuft of large, long-stalked, palmately lobed leaves. The
   milky juice of the plant is said to have the property of
   making meat tender. Also, its dull orange-colored,
   melon-shaped fruit, which is eaten both raw and cooked or
   pickled.
2. (Bot.) A tree of the genus {Asimina} ({A. triloba}),
   growing in the western and southern parts of the United
   States, and producing a sweet edible fruit; also, the
   fruit itself. --Gray.