nicker nut

9.9

A hard shiny grey seed from a tree often used to make jewelry

noun

: nuez de bonduc

Artisans value the durability and lustre of nicker nuts for handmade jewelry.

Examples

She wore a necklace made from polished nicker nuts gathered during her travels.
Children collected nicker nuts on the beach to use in games and crafts.
The artist crafted a necklace from a beautiful nicker nut.
I found several nicker nuts on the beach during my vacation.
Artisans value the durability and lustre of nicker nuts for handmade jewelry.
She wore a necklace made from polished nicker nuts gathered during her travels.
Children collected nicker nuts on the beach to use in games and crafts.

Synonyms

bonduc nut

vsnicker nut

Australian

9.9

A hard shiny gray seed often used to make necklaces and beads

is identical in sense but uses a different color spelling and noun form

nicker seed

vsnicker nut

9.9

Hard shiny grey seed from a tropical tree that people use to make jewelry and decorations

is the same meaning but uses an alternate two word label

Surface Forms

nicker nut singular

nicker nuts plural

Morphology

nicker + nut

The first constituent 'nicker' is not a recognized English word here (dictionary entry missing), so even knowing 'nut' (a generic seed) a B1 learner cannot infer the specific referent, appearance, or use. This is a lexicalized name for a particular seed/type and does not transparently compose from its parts, making the meaning unpredictable for learners.

Etymology

Nicker nut may come from people using the hard, shiny seed like a small coin or bead. Because the seeds looked like little 'nickers', an old name for small coins, people began to call them nicker nuts, and that name stayed for the seed used in jewelry.