Also choco, chuchu. [Native name in Brazil.] Name in the British West Indies of a cucurbitaceous plant (Sechium edule), cultivated for its wholesome succulent fruit.
‘From Madeira its fruits are sometimes … sold in Covent Garden Market under the name of Chayotes.’
1756. P. Browne, Jamaica, 355. The Chocho Vine … is now cultivated in many places in Jamaica.
1882. Standard, 14 Dec., 5/3. Clustering over an orange tree is the lovely cho-cho vine. Ibid. (1887), 16 Sept., 5/2. The chocho of Jamaica, the christophine of the French Antilles, the chuchu of Brazil, the pipinella, chayota, or vegetable pear of Madeira … is one of the most peculiar fruits of tropical America.
