Adjacent Words

hickory definitions

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: valuable tough heavy hardwood from various hickory trees
2: American hardwood tree bearing edible nuts [syn: hickory, hickory tree]

Merriam Webster's

noun (plural -ries) Etymology: short for obsolete pokahickory, from Virginia Algonquian pawcohiccora food prepared from pounded nuts Date: 1670 1. a. any of a genus (Carya) of North American hardwood trees of the walnut family that often have sweet edible nuts b. the usually tough wood of a hickory 2. a switch or cane (as of hickory wood) used especially for punishing a child • hickory adjective

Merriam Webster's

geographical name city W central North Carolina population 37,222

Britannica Concise

Any of about 18 species of deciduous timber and nut-producing trees that make up the genus Carya, in the walnut family. About 15 species are native to E N. America, and three to E Asia. The fruit is an egg-shaped nut enclosed in a fleshy husk. The nuts of some species--principally shagbark hickory (C. ovata), shellbark hickory (C. laciniosa), mockernut hickory (C. tomentosa), and pecan--contain large, sweet-tasting, edible seeds. The pecan, the most valuable species economically, is cultivated for its flavorful nuts and its light-colored wood. The wood of other hickories is used as fuel and for tool handles, sports equipment, furniture, and flooring.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. (pl. -ies) 1 any N. American tree of the genus Carya, yielding tough heavy wood and bearing nutlike edible fruits (see PECAN). 2 a the wood of these trees. b a stick made of this. Etymology: native Virginian pohickery

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Shad Shad (sh[a^]d), n. sing. & pl. [AS. sceadda a kind of fish, akin to Prov. G. schade; cf. Ir. & Gael. sgadan a herring, W. ysgadan herrings; all perhaps akin to E. skate a fish.] (Zo["o]l.) Any one of several species of food fishes of the Herring family. The American species (Clupea sapidissima), which is abundant on the Atlantic coast and ascends the larger rivers in spring to spawn, is an important market fish. The European allice shad, or alose (C. alosa), and the twaite shad. (C. finta), are less important species. [Written also chad.] Note: The name is loosely applied, also, to several other fishes, as the gizzard shad (see under Gizzard), called also mud shad, white-eyed shad, and winter shad. Hardboaded, or Yellow-tailed, shad, the menhaden. Hickory, or Tailor, shad, the mattowacca. Long-boned shad, one of several species of important food fishes of the Bermudas and the West Indies, of the genus Gerres. Shad bush (Bot.), a name given to the North American shrubs or small trees of the rosaceous genus Amelanchier (A. Canadensis, and A. alnifolia) Their white racemose blossoms open in April or May, when the shad appear, and the edible berries (pomes) ripen in June or July, whence they are called Juneberries. The plant is also called service tree, and Juneberry. Shad frog, an American spotted frog (Rana halecina); -- so called because it usually appears at the time when the shad begin to run in the rivers. Trout shad, the squeteague. White shad, the common shad.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Hickory Hick"o*ry, n. [North American Indian pawcohiccora (Capt. J. Smith) a kind of milk or oily liquor pressed from pounded hickory nuts. ``Pohickory'' is named in a list of Virginia trees, in 1653, and this was finally shortened to ``hickory.'' --J. H. Trumbull.] (Bot.) An American tree of the genus Carya, of which there are several species. The shagbark is the C. alba, and has a very rough bark; it affords the hickory nut of the markets. The pignut, or brown hickory, is the C. glabra. The swamp hickory is C. amara, having a nut whose shell is very thin and the kernel bitter. Hickory shad. (Zo["o]l.) (a) The mattowacca, or fall herring. (b) The gizzard shad.