Although usually called a vegetable and eaten as such, the tomato is actually a fruit that can be eaten raw or cooked. It might be red or yellow in various sizes, and comes in shapes from round to pear-shaped.
Since the tomato is native to South America, it makes sense that its name is based in the Spanish tomate, and can be traced to the Aztecs, whose language, Nahuatl, contained the word tomatl, or "the swelling fruit." In 1519, Cortez brought tomato seeds to Spain, where the plant was grown as an ornament but not for eating. The French called them pommes d'amour, or “love apples,” and in 1929 the word became American slang for a pretty girl.
