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pistachio nut

pistachio nut

1 2.8
A small green seed from a tree that you eat as a snack or in cooking
  • noun
  • /pɪˈstæʃioʊ nʌt/
translation icon : pistacho
  • The chef added pistachio nuts to the salad for extra crunch.
  • coarsely chopped pistachio nuts
  • a cup of pistachio nuts
  • 1.5 oz of pistachio nuts

Examples

  • Eat a healthy snack—something that is rich in fiber, like an apple, dried apricots, celery, or a handful of pistachio nuts.

    Blog text (6)
  • Pistachio nuts, for instance, whether in petite jars or five-pound bags, have a feeble chance of extended survival once I discover them close at hand.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • "We brought pistachio nuts from Acre too."

    Fiction book (1996)
  • And they definitely didn't have to finish all my pistachio nuts.

  • Unless we're watching that one show about the gators, and then I like to eat pistachio nuts.

  • Her pet mole had eaten all the pistachio nuts.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • I know how much you like pistachio nuts, but... in the rush to get over here, I accidentally grabbed a bag of pasta shells.

  • I smuggle gold, diamonds, cigarettes, pistachio nuts, but no heroin.

  • One day you're rich as an Arab, the next you're lucky if you can afford a goddamn can of pistachio nuts.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • Bulkin bought a quarter kilo of pistachio nuts, took a handful out of the bag, and gave the rest to Yiftach: "Eat," he said.

    Fiction book (1996)

Synonyms

nut
vspistachio nut
337 1.0

A large hard seed with a shell that you can eat

is smaller and green and comes from a Mediterranean tree
pistachio
vspistachio nut
11 3.9

A small pale green nut people eat, often roasted or used in sweets

is eaten as a snack and used in cooking and baking instead
edible nut
vspistachio nut
1 2.0

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

is the green Mediterranean seed commonly eaten as a snack

Surface Forms

pistachio nut singular

Morphology

pistachio + nut

The meaning is directly compositional: a 'pistachio nut' is simply the nut of the pistachio tree, which a learner who knows 'pistachio' and 'nut' can infer. This noun‑noun type naming pattern is common cross‑linguistically and follows transparent word‑formation conventions, so a B1 learner would readily understand it.

Etymology

The noun pistachio nut comes from a Persian word 'pesteh' that traders brought to Europe long ago and names the small green seed of the tree. The nut's thin shell often splits open like a little mouth showing the bright green inside, so pistachio nut now means the green edible seed people eat as a snack.