means A small, round, green citrus fruit with a sharp, tart juice, used in cooking, drinks, and once as a defense against scurvy at sea.

from "Lime" came into English through French "lime" and Spanish "lima," which trace back to Arabic "līma" — a collective term for citrus fruits — and possibly further to Persian. The Royal Navy's practice of issuing lime and lemon juice to sailors to ward off scurvy is what earned British sailors (and eventually all Brits, in American slang) the nickname "limeys." Note: the lime you climb (the linden tree) and the lime you whitewash with (calcium oxide) are unrelated words — the mineral "lime" comes from Old English "līm," meaning a sticky substance, a cousin of "loam" and "slime."