walnut meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

walnut

noun

UK /ˈwɔːlnʌt/ · US /ˈwɔlnət/

Etymology From Middle English walnote, walnutte, walnotte, from Old English wealhhnutu (“walnut”, literally “foreign nut”), from Proto-Germanic *walhaz (“foreigner”) + *hnuts (“nut”). Cognate with Dutch walnoot, German Walnuss, Swedish valnöt, Icelandic valhneta. Compare more recent term Welsh onion, which also uses Welsh to mean “foreign”.

A hardwood tree of the genus Juglans.

A nut of the walnut tree.

Wood of the walnut tree.

Dark brown colour, the colour of walnut wood.

Derived terms: African walnut, Arizona black walnut, Arizona walnut, ash-leaved walnut, black walnut, Caucasian walnut, common walnut, English walnut, European walnut, Carpathian walnut, Madeira walnut, Persian walnut, Queensland walnut, royal walnut moth, satin walnut, sea walnut, Walnut Ridge, walnutty, walnuty, white walnut
Related terms: walshnut

walnut

adj

Having a dark brown colour, the colour of walnut wood.

A long-skirted, cabalistically-cut coat of a faded walnut tinge enveloped him; the overlapping sleeves of which were rolled up on his wrists.1851, Herman Melville, Moby Dick., archived from the original on 11 Aug 2014:

Related terms: butternut, hickory