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shagbark

shagbark

1 9.8
A North American hickory tree with loose gray bark that peels and nuts you can eat
  • noun
  • /ˈʃæɡˌbɑrk/
  • US
translation icon : nogal de corteza suelta
  • The shagbark hickory in my backyard provides delicious nuts every fall.
  • shagbark hickory

Examples

  • They found the Skinned Cat at the far end of the town, tucked back within the shadow of several massive, ancient shagbarks.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • They were gathered in a loose circle under an aging shagbark hickory, nudging at nut shells and twigs with their boots as they listened to her speak.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • Squirrels love to gather acorns near the shagbark hickory tree.

  • We discovered a large shagbark hickory during our hike in the forest.

Synonyms

shagbark hickory
vsshagbark
  • US
9.7

A North American tree with loose, peeling gray bark and nuts you can eat

is the plain common name without the scientific parenthesis
Carya ovata
vsshagbark
  • Specialized
9.8

A large North American tree with shaggy grey bark and nuts you can eat

is the common name entry rather than the scientific species label

Compounds

big shagbark
  • Specialized
8.6

A large hickory tree in eastern United States that makes much larger nuts than the shagbark hickory

A North American tree with loose, peeling gray bark and nuts you can eat

Surface Forms

shagbark singular
shagbarks plural

Morphology

shagbark = shag + bark (transparent) = shag + bark

The compound literally denotes bark that is shaggy in appearance, so the meaning is directly derivable from its parts.

Etymology

The word shagbark is made of shag 'rough or hanging hair' and bark 'tree skin', so picture a tree with a 'shaggy' coat. That's why shagbark names a hickory whose gray bark peels off in loose, shaggy strips, making it easy to spot in the woods.