“almonds” is a form of
almond
UK /ˈɑː.mənd/ · US /ˈɑ(l).mənd/ noun, adjective, proper noun
Forms almonds the Almond
- noun (countable) The seed within the drupe of a small deciduous tree in family Rosaceae, Prunus amygdalus, considered a culinary nut.
- noun (countable) The tree that produces almonds.
- noun bitter almond. of variety Prunus amygdalus var. amara, (syn. Prunus dulcis var. amara), that only produces bitter fruits
- noun flowering almond (Prunus japonica), an ornamental shrub in family Rosaceae
- noun desert almond (Prunus andersonii), a North American shrub in family Rosaceae
- noun desert range almond or wild almond (Prunus fasciculata), North American shrub in family Rosaceae
- noun Indian almond or tropical almond (Terminalia catappa), in family Combretaceae
- noun bitter almond (Brabejum stellatifolium), in family Proteaceae
- adjective Brownish, resembling the colour of an almond nut.
- proper noun A surname.
- proper noun A town in Allegany County, New York, United States.
- proper noun A village in Portage County, Wisconsin, United States.
- proper noun A river in North Lanarkshire council area, West Lothian council area and Edinburgh council area, Scotland, which empties into the Firth of Forth near Edinburgh.
- proper noun A river in Perth and Kinross council area, Scotland, which joins the River Tay.
Synonyms
sweet almond Prunus dulcis Prunus amygdalus Amygdalus communis
Etymology
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-). Compare Spanish almóndiga and Portuguese almôndega (“meatball”) from Andalusian Arabic البُنْدُقَة (“hazelnut al-bunduqa”). Doublet of amygdala, amygdale, and mandorla.
* From the Middle English given name Almund, from the coalescence of Old English Æþelmund (literally “noble protector”) and Ealhmund (literally “temple protector”).
* Variant of Allman (from Old French aleman (“German”) or alemayne (“from Germany”)) and Allmand (from Old French alemaund (“German”)), assimilated after almond by folk etymology.
According to John Reynolds, a historian of the town in New York, it was named for a place in Scotland, not the almond, which would most likely not have been available there then, hence the pronunciation is different.
A native of it, James F. Moore, was the first postmaster of the village in Wisconsin.
Altered after almond from earlier Ammon, from Scottish Gaelic Àmain, from Proto-Brythonic *aβon (“river”). Doublet of Avon.
Webster’s 1913
Etymology [OE. almande, almaunde, alemaunde, F. amande, L. amygdala, fr. Gr. almendra. Cf. Amygdalate.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “almond”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details