pignut hickory
- noun
- /ˈpɪɡnʌt ˈhɪkəri/
- Specialized
:
nogal de pignut
- The wood from the pignut hickory is often used for making furniture due to its durability.
Examples
-
The pignut hickory produces hard-shelled nuts that are typically bitter and not favored for eating.
-
Among the trees are American elm, cabbage palm, live oak, pignut hickory, southern magnolia, and sugarberry.
Academic text (2010) -
In the forest, the pignut hickory stands out with its tall trunk and distinctive foliage.
Synonyms
1
9.9
A North American tree that makes bitter edible nuts
A North American hickory tree with hard wood and bitter nuts
A North American tree with smooth bark and bitter nuts
Surface Forms
Morphology
Both constituents denote tree/nut types so the compound simply names a variety of hickory: a hickory associated with 'pignut' characteristics. The meaning is compositional and non‑idiomatic, so a B1 learner who knows 'pignut' and 'hickory' can infer it denotes a kind of hickory tree with bitter, hard‑shelled nuts.
Etymology
Pignut hickory is named for the tree's small, hard nuts called pignuts. One popular story says farmers fed these bitter nuts to 'pigs', so the name links the nut and the animal and now refers to a hickory tree with small, hard, bitter nuts.