bitter pecan
- noun
- Specialized
:
pecán amargo
- Unlike the sweet pecan, the bitter pecan produces nuts that are unpleasant to eat raw.
Examples
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The bitter pecan tree is easily recognizable by its narrow leaflets and the bitter taste of its nuts.
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The wood of the bitter pecan is sometimes used for furniture and flooring.
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Botanists identified the tree as a bitter pecan based on its leaf structure and location.
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The bitter pecan tree grows near my house.
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I found a bitter pecan in the backyard.
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Unlike the sweet variety, the bitter pecan has nuts that are not suitable for eating raw.
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In the southern United States, the bitter pecan is known for its distinctive appearance and its unpalatable nuts.
Synonyms
A tree in the southern United States that grows in wet places and has many narrow leaves and bitter nuts
A hickory tree that grows in wet southern United States areas with many narrow leaves and bitter nuts
A tree that has many narrow leaflets and bitter nuts and grows in wet parts of the southern United States
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is a straightforward adjective+noun composition: 'bitter' (having an unpleasant taste) modifying 'pecan' (the nut/tree), so a B1 learner who knows both words will infer a pecan (or pecan tree) with a bitter taste. While the technical botanical detail (a hickory species) is more specific than the literal words convey, the central meaning is directly derivable and follows a common, cross-linguistic compounding pattern.
Etymology
Bitter pecan gets its name from people who tasted the tree's nuts and found them bitter rather than sweet. So the name simply describes a kind of pecan whose nuts are 'not good to eat', and today it refers to the tree with those bitter nuts.
