nut = hard seed
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hnutu (Old English)
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khnut (Proto-Germanic)
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kneu (Indo-European)
The Latin word for nut is nux and comes from the same Indo-European root where we get our more Germanic nut. From nux we can get nuclula 'little nut' and then nucleus 'kernel' and nuclear 'like the nucleus of a cell'.
Walnut was introduced to English from Italy and Gaul (now France and Belgium) and means 'foreign nut' from the Old English wealh "foreign" + hnutu 'nut'. The term wealh is also where we get Welsh, a non-Germanic foreigner. Its Latin name was nux Gallica or 'Gaulish nut'.
Peanut was originally called a ground nut or ground pea. Portuguese traders took peanuts around the world from South America to Europe, China and Africa. Pea is a name for a whole group of legumes from Latin pisum and from Greek pison.
Coconut is from coco + nut. Coco is 'grinning face' in Spanish and Portuguese because of the face made from its three holes.
Related Words
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Translated
- noix French
- noce Italian
- nuez Spanish
- nuss German