lemon
Meaning of lemon: A lemon is a citrus fruit valued as a natural source of vitamin C, historically important for preventing the vitamin C deficiency scurvy.
Definition of lemon
A lemon is a small, yellow citrus fruit known for its sour taste, due mainly to its high citric acid content, and its notable content of vitamin C, also called ascorbic acid. The scientific name of the lemon tree is Citrus limon.
Lemon juice has a long history of use in preventing scurvy, a disease caused by prolonged vitamin C deficiency that historically affected sailors on long voyages without access to fresh fruit, before the specific role of vitamin C in the disease was understood.
Beyond nutrition, lemon juice and peel are used widely in cooking and food preparation, and lemon oil extracted from the peel is used in some cosmetic and aromatherapy products. Applying lemon juice or oil to the skin before sun exposure can, in some people, cause a skin reaction similar to a chemical burn, since certain compounds in citrus peel become irritating when activated by ultraviolet light.
Used in a sentence
The patient described a skin reaction after handling lemons and then spending time outdoors in direct sunlight.
Good to know
Certain compounds naturally present in lemon peel can react with sunlight on the skin to produce a burn like reaction, a phenomenon distinct from a simple citrus allergy.