Sweet purple or yellow fruits with soft flesh and a large pit in the center, or something highly desirable and valuable.
From Old English 'plume,' which came from Latin 'prunum,' ultimately from Greek 'prounon.' The figurative meaning of 'something desirable' developed in the 19th century from plums being considered luxury treats.
The figurative use 'plum job' meaning a great position comes from when plums were rare and expensive luxury items in Europe—getting one was genuinely exciting! Now we call anything great a 'plum,' carrying forward the memory of how special these fruits once were.
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