Added 9 October 2026
nut
/nʌt/ symbol
In Latin: nux Wiktionary
symbol Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about nut at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
noun
-
Any of various hard-shelled seeds or hard, dry fruits from various families of plants.
There are many sorts of nuts: peanuts, cashews, pistachios, Brazil nuts and more.
- Such a fruit that is indehiscent.
- A piece of hardware, typically metal and typically hexagonal or square in shape, with a hole through it having internal screw threads, intended to be screwed onto a threaded bolt or other threaded shaft.
verb
noun
- Alternative form of nuth (“Indian nose ring”).
Origin
From Middle English note, nute, from Old English hnutu, from Proto-West Germanic *hnut, from Proto-Germanic *hnuts (“nut”), from a root *knu- possibly shared with Proto-Celtic *knūs and Latin nux (“nut”). Based on the form of the nouns and the restriction of the root to Germanic, Celtic and Italic, it has been argued to be of non-Indo-European (substrate) origin. See also West Frisian nút, Dutch noot, German Nuss, Danish nød, Swedish nöt, Norwegian nøtt.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)