瓜是中文对葫芦科和番木瓜科的果实的统称，当中部份是水果，部份是蔬菜。

中国在春秋时期即有瓜的记载。《诗经．大雅．绵》：“绵绵瓜瓞，民之初生，自土沮漆。”《诗经．幽风．七月》有“七月食瓜，八月断壶”的叙述。齐襄公派遣连称与管至父戍守蔡丘（今山东省临淄县西）。一年后，连称与管至父在蔡丘吃到瓜，想到过去齐襄公的承诺，到来年瓜熟时派人接替。结果齐襄公食言。最后连称与管至父起兵造反。

王祯《农书》云︰“瓜品甚多，不可枚举。以状得名，则有龙肝、虎掌、兔头、狸首、羊髓、蜜筒之称；以色得名，则有乌瓜、白团、黄、白、小青、大斑之别。然其味，不出乎甘香而已。”

A melon is any of various plants of the family Cucurbitaceae with edible, fleshy fruit.

The word "melon" can refer to either the plant or specifically to the fruit. Many different cultivars have been produced, particularly of muskmelons.

Although the melon is a fruit (specifically, a berry), some varieties may be considered vegetables rather than fruits. The word melon derives from Latin melopepo, which is the latinization of the Greek μηλοπέπων (mēlopepon), meaning "melon", itself a compound of μῆλον (mēlon), "apple" + πέπων (pepōn), amongst others "a kind of gourd or melon".