🍄 An edible fungus 🥔 A plant tuber 🥜 A peanut pod

earthnut

7.7

The pod of the peanut plant that holds the edible nuts

noun
/ˈɜrθnʌt/

: cacahuete

She cracked open the earthnut pod to reveal two fresh peanuts inside.

Examples

The farmer harvested a basket full of earthnuts from the field.
Roasted earthnuts are a popular snack in many countries.
I love eating earthnuts in salads.
Do you prefer earthnuts or cashews?
Roasted earthnuts are a popular snack in many countries.
The farmer harvested a basket full of earthnuts from the field.
She cracked open the earthnut pod to reveal two fresh peanuts inside.

Synonyms

peanut

vsearthnut

340 1.0

A small seed that grows in a pod underground and is eaten as a snack

focuses on the outer pod that holds the underground seeds

nut

vsearthnut

337 1.0

A large hard seed with a shell that you can eat

is narrower naming the specific pod from one plant rather than any large seed

goober

vsearthnut

Informal

3 8.9

A peanut in its shell that usually has two seeds

refers specifically to the outer shell rather than the seed

groundnut

vsearthnut

1 3.0

A small shell from the peanut plant that holds two nuts often eaten as a snack

means the same but is an alternate regional name

monkey nut

vsearthnut

1 6.1

A peanut that is still in its shell, often with two nuts inside

is the same name but without the chiefly British label

edible nut

vsearthnut

1 2.0

A hard-shelled seed with an edible part inside, like an almond or walnut

is specific to the pod of a particular plant rather than any hard-shelled seed

goober pea

vsearthnut

9.3

A dry pod on the peanut plant that has two seeds you can eat

is a neutral term used across dialects rather than an American colloquialism

Surface Forms

earthnut singular

earthnuts plural

Morphology

earthnut = earth + nut (transparent) = earth + nut

A direct compound equivalent to 'groundnut' or 'peanut'; the components reliably indicate an edible seed associated with the earth.

Etymology

The word earthnut is simply earth 'ground' plus nut 'edible seed', giving the idea of a nut from the soil. That is why people also call the peanut pod a groundnut or earthnut: its seeds grow at or just under the ground and are eaten like nuts.