An
aggregate fruit or
etaerio is a
fruit that develops from the merger of several
ovaries that were separate in a single
flower. In contrast, a
simple fruit develops from one ovary. In languages other than English, the meanings of aggregate and
multiple fruit are reversed, so that aggregate fruits merge several flowers. The differences in meaning are due to a reversal in the terminology by
John Lindley, which has been followed by most English-language authors.