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Glite Dictionary
babassu nut

babassu nut

9.5
A hard-shelled palm nut that gives oil and has an inside you can eat
  • noun
  • /bəˈbɑːsuː nʌt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : nuez de babasú
  • After collecting the babassu nuts, villagers extract both the oil and the edible kernel.

Examples

  • The babassu nut is widely harvested in Brazil for its valuable oil.

  • She uses babassu nut oil as a moisturizer for her skin and hair.

  • The babassu nut is rich in oil.

  • Many people enjoy cooking with babassu nuts.

  • After collecting the babassu nut, the villagers extract its valuable oil and edible kernel.

  • She enjoys using babassu nut oil in her cooking for its rich flavor and health benefits.

  • The babassu nut is an important resource for local communities in Brazil, providing both oil and food.

Surface Forms

babassu nut singular
babassu nuts plural

Morphology

babassu + nut

The noun phrase is a straightforward compound of 'babassu' (a type of palm) + 'nut' (a hard-shelled seed), so its meaning — the nut produced by the babassu palm — is directly derivable from the constituents. Noun+noun naming of plant parts is a common, compositional pattern cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows both words will understand the MWE.

Etymology

The term babassu nut comes from the name of the babassu palm in Brazil; the tree makes a hard-shelled nut with a soft, oily seed inside. People crack the shell to get the oil and edible kernel, so today babassu nut means that hard nut used for 'oil' and 'food'.