cedar nut

4.6

An edible seed from some pine trees like Swiss pine used in cooking or as a snack

noun
/ˈsiːdər nʌt/

: piñón

The chef added toasted cedar nuts to the salad for a delicious crunch and texture.

Examples

Cedar nuts are high in healthy fats and a good source of protein.
I bought a bag of cedar nuts at the health food market yesterday afternoon.
I love eating cedar nuts as a snack.
The cedar nut adds a rich flavor to the dish.
Cedar nuts are often sprinkled on salads to enhance their flavor and provide a crunchy texture.
After hiking, we enjoyed a handful of cedar nuts as a nutritious snack.
The recipe calls for cedar nuts to be blended into the pesto for added richness.

Synonyms

pine nut

vscedar nut

9 2.3

An edible seed from some pine trees used in cooking and baking

is from pines in Europe especially the Swiss species rather than southwestern ones

pinon nut

vscedar nut

1 6.2

An edible seed from some pine trees eaten as a snack or used in cooking

is the seed mainly of European pines especially the Swiss one rather than southwestern trees

pignolia

vscedar nut

1 9.6

A small edible seed from a pine tree used in cooking

refers specifically to seeds of European pines particularly the Swiss species rather than southwestern ones

cembra nut

vscedar nut

9.9

An edible seed from the Swiss pine with a mild taste often eaten raw or roasted

is the general edible seed from various pines rather than a single species

piñon

vscedar nut

7.7

A small pine tree with short needles that makes edible seeds

focuses only on the edible seed of certain pines specifically the Swiss species

Surface Forms

cedar nut singular

cedar nuts plural

Morphology

cedar + nut

The meaning 'the edible seed of a cedar' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'cedar' (a type of tree) with 'nut' (an edible seed), so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily infer this compound noun's basic sense. Compound noun formation of type 'X + nut' is a regular, compositional pattern cross-linguistically, so only specialist botanical details (specific species) would require additional knowledge.

Etymology

Cedar nut likely comes from people calling some pine trees a kind of cedar and naming the small edible seeds from those trees nuts; one popular story says traders sold these seeds as a tasty 'snack' and for 'cooking', so the name stuck and now cedar nut means the edible seed used in food.