1874.—"The greatest pleasure in Bombay was eating a fish called 'pomfret.'"—Sat. Rev., 30th May, 690.
[1896.—"Another account of this sort of seine fishing, for catching pomfret fish, is given by Mr. Gueritz."—Ling Roth, Natives of Sarawak, i. 455.]
POMMELO, PAMPELMOOSE, &c., s. Citrus decumana, L., the largest of the orange-tribe. It is the same fruit as the [shaddock] of the West Indies; but to the larger varieties some form of the name Pommelo seems also to be applied in the West. A small variety, with a fine skin, is sold in London shops as "the Forbidden fruit." The fruit, though grown in gardens over a great part of India, really comes to perfection only near the Equator, and especially in Java, whence it was probably brought to the continent. For it is called in Bengal Batāvī nimbū (i.e. Citrus Bataviana). It probably did not come to India till the 17th century; it is not mentioned in the Āīn. According to Bretschneider the Pommelo is mentioned in the ancient Chinese Book of the Shu-King. Its Chinese name is Yu.
The form of the name which we have put first is that now general in Anglo-Indian use. But it is probably only a modern result of 'striving after meaning' (quasi Pomo-melone?). Among older authors the name goes through many strange shapes. Tavernier calls it pompone (Voy. des Indes, liv. iii. ch. 24; [ed. Ball, ii. 360]), but the usual French name is pampel-mousse. Dampier has Pumplenose (ii. 125); Lockyer, Pumplemuse (51); Forrest, Pummel-nose (32); Ives, 'pimple-noses, called in the West Indies Chadocks' [19]. Maria Graham uses the French spelling (22). Pompoleon is a form unknown to us, but given in the Eng. Cyclopaedia. Molesworth's Marāṭhi Dict. gives "papannas, papanas, or papanis (a word of. S. America)." We are unable to give the true etymology, though Littré says boldly "Tamoul, bambolimas." Ainslie (Mat. Medica, 1813) gives Poomlimas as the Tamil, whilst Balfour (Cycl. of India) gives Pumpalimas and Bambulimas as Tamil, Bombarimasa and Pampara-panasa as Telugu, Bambali naringi as Malayālim. But if these are real words they appear to be corruptions of some foreign term. [Mr. F. Brandt points out that the above forms are merely various attempts to transliterate a word which is in Tamil pambalimāsu, while the Malayālim is bambāli-nārakam 'bambili tree.' According to the Madras Gloss. all these, as well as the English forms, are ultimately derived from the Malay pumpulmas. Mr. Skeat writes: "In an obsolete Malay dict., by Howison (1801) I find 'poomplemoos, a fruit brought from India by Captain Shaddock, the seeds of which were planted at Barbadoes,' and afterwards obtained his name: the affix moos appears to be the Dutch moes, 'vegetable.'" If this be so, the Malay is not the original form.]
1661.—"The fruit called by the Netherlanders Pumpelmoos, by the Portuguese Jamboa, grows in superfluity outside the city of Batavia.... This fruit is larger than any of the lemon-kind, for it grows as large as the head of a child of 10 years old. The core or inside is for the most part reddish, and has a kind of sourish sweetness, tasting like unripe grapes."—Walter Schulzen, 236.
PONDICHERRY, n.p. This name of what is now the chief French settlement in India, is Pudu-ch'chēri, or Puthuççēri, 'New Town,' more correctly Pudu-vai, Puthuvai, meaning 'New Place.' C. P. Brown, however, says it is Pudi-cherū, 'New Tank.' The natives sometimes write it Phulcheri. [Mr. Garstin (Man. S. Arcot, 422) says that Hindus call it Puthuvai or Puthuççeri, while Musulmans call it Pulcheri, or as the Madras Gloss. writes the word, Pulchari.]
1680.—"Mr. Edward Brogden, arrived from Porto Novo, reports arrival at Puddicherry of two French ships from Surat, and the receipt of advices of the death of Sevajie."—Fort St. Geo. Consn., May 23. In Notes and Exts. No. iii. p. 20.
[1683.—"... Interlopers intend to settle att Verampatnam, a place neer Pullicherry...."—Pringle, Diary Ft. St. Geo., 1st ser. ii. 41. In iv. 113 (1685) we have Pondicherry.]
1711.—"The French and Danes likewise hire them (Portuguese) at Pont de Cheree and Trincombar."—Lockyer, 286.
1718.—"The Fifth Day we reached Budulscheri, a French Town, and the chief Seat of their Missionaries in India."—Prop. of the Gospel, p. 42.