almond

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See also: Almond

English

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Almonds (nuts).

Etymology

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From Middle English almond, almaund, from Old French almande, amande, from Vulgar Latin *amendla, *amandula, from Latin amygdala, from Ancient Greek ἀμυγδάλη (amugdálē), of uncertain origin. Influenced by amandus and by many European words of Arabic origin beginning with the Arabic definite article Arabic ال (al-).[1] Compare Spanish almóndiga and Portuguese almôndega (“meatball”) from Andalusian Arabic البُنْدُقَة (“hazelnut”). Doublet of amygdala, amygdale, and mandorla.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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almond (countable and uncountable, plural almonds)

  2. (countable) The seed within the drupe of a small deciduous tree in family Rosaceae, Prunus amygdalus, considered a culinary nut.
  4. (countable) The tree that produces almonds.
    • 2004, Richard Fortey, The Earth, Folio Society, published 2011, page 3:
      In early March the almonds are in flower, delicately pink, and there are washes of bright daffodils beneath the orchard trees; you can see women gathering them for market.
  5. Other plants that produce almond-like nuts:
    1. bitter almond. of variety Prunus amygdalus var. amara, (syn. Prunus dulcis var. amara), that only produces bitter fruits
    2. Prunus japonica, flowering almond, an ornamental shrub in family Rosaceae
    3. Prunus andersonii, desert almond, a North American shrub in family Rosaceae
    4. Prunus fasciculata, desert range almond or wild almond, North American shrub in family Rosaceae
    5. Terminalia catappa, Indian almond or tropical almond, in family Combretaceae
    6. Brabejum stellatifolium or bitter almond, in family Proteaceae
      Synonym: bitter almond
  6. (uncountable) The colour of the kernel of an almond without its shell and thin seed coat, a creamy off-white colour.
    almond:  
  7. (uncountable) The colour of an almond still covered by its skin, a shade of brown.
    almond:  
  8. (uncountable) Flavour or other characteristics of almond.
    I can't eat it if it has too much almond in it.
  9. Anything shaped like an almond; specifically, (anatomy, archaic) a tonsil.
    • 1828, David Craigie, Elements of General and Pathological Anatomy:
      The next set are shorter, and are more contracted or acuminated at their posterior end, where they are contiguous to the almonds or tonsils.

Derived terms

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Translations

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Adjective

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almond (comparative more almond, superlative most almond)

  1. Brownish, resembling the colour of an almond nut.

Translations

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “almond”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
  2. ^ “almond”, in Collins English Dictionary.
  3. ^ “almond”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016, →ISBN.

Further reading

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Anagrams

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Middle English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Old French almande.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /alˈmɔnd/, /alˈmau̯nd/, /alˈmand/, /alˈmɔu̯nd/

Noun

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almond (plural almondes)

  1. An almond (tree nut)
    • c. 1430 (reprinted 1888), Thomas Austin, ed., Two Fifteenth-century Cookery-books. Harleian ms. 279 (ab. 1430), & Harl. ms. 4016 (ab. 1450), with Extracts from Ashmole ms. 1429, Laud ms. 553, & Douce ms. 55 [Early English Text Society, Original Series; 91], London: N. Trübner & Co. for the Early English Text Society, volume I, OCLC 374760, page 11:
      Soupes dorye. — Take gode almaunde mylke […] caste þher-to Safroun an Salt […]
      (please add an English translation of this quotation)
    • 1962 (quoting 1381 text), Hans Kurath & Sherman M. Kuhn, eds., Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan Press, ISBN 978-0-472-01044-8, page 1242:
      dorrẹ̅, dōrī adj. & n. […] cook. glazed with a yellow substance; pome(s ~, sopes ~. […] 1381 Pegge Cook. Recipes p. 114: For to make Soupys dorry. Nym onyons […] Nym wyn […] toste wyte bred and do yt in dischis, and god Almande mylk.
      (please add an English translation of this quotation)
  2. An almond tree (Prunus dulcis)
  3. An object that resembles an almond in physical form.

Derived terms

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Descendants

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  • English: almond
  • Scots: almond

References

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