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black walnut

black walnut

1 4.3
A large tree from North America with dark hard wood and nuts you can eat
  • noun
  • /blæk ˈwɔlnʌt/
  • US
translation icon : nogal negro
  • The spot she had chosen to spread her blanket was under a handsome black walnut that grew at the edge of the woods bordering the acres of cotton.

Around us, black ash and black walnuts made a velvety curtain.

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Examples

  • "I brought you some black walnuts from our tree if you want some," Granma said.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • And of course, there are always hickory nuts and black walnuts to gather this time of year.

    Blog text (12)
  • "He made me take a photo of him next to a fat black walnut that would fetch over $1,000 at the mill."

    Academic text (2010)
  • My parents and my grandmum taught me that those nuts were good to eat, along with the black walnuts from the backyard, and since I was five or under, I have always loved them.

    Blog text (3)
  • She gathered black walnuts, pecans, and hickory nuts in the woods.

    Academic text (1990)
  • And so they made you a humidor out of black walnut and curly Maple that was grown or felled and milled in Memphis.

  • The craftsmen used black walnut to create beautiful and durable furniture.

  • She roasted the black walnuts from her backyard tree for a delightful snack.

  • The interior of the cabin was adorned with black walnut paneling, adding a rich elegance.

Synonyms

black walnut tree
vsblack walnut
  • US
3.8

A North American tree with hard dark wood and edible nuts

uses the shorter familiar name rather than the descriptive common form
Juglans nigra
vsblack walnut
  • Specialized
9.1

A North American tree with dark hard wood and nuts you can eat

uses the everyday common name instead of the Latin botanical form

Surface Forms

black walnut singular
black walnuts plural

Morphology

black + walnut

The meaning is directly compositional: 'black' modifies 'walnut' to specify a type of walnut/tree with dark wood or coloration, so a B1 learner who knows both words would infer it refers to a kind of walnut or walnut tree. This adjective+noun compound follows ordinary cross-linguistic naming patterns and involves no idiomatic or metaphorical shift.

Etymology

The name black walnut comes from the tree's very dark bark and wood, which explains the black part, and from its walnut fruit, which explains the walnut part. So the name tells you it is a tree with 'hard, dark wood' and 'edible nuts'.