What is "almond"

Almond \Alm"ond\ ([aum]"m[u^]nd), n. [OE. almande, almaunde, alemaunde, F. amande, L. amygdala, fr. Gr. 'amygda`lh: cf. Sp. almendra. Cf. Amygdalate.]

1. The fruit of the almond tree.

   Note: The different kinds, as bitter, sweet, thin-shelled, thick-shelled almonds, and Jordan almonds, are the products of different varieties of the one species, Amygdalus communis, a native of the Mediterranean region and western Asia.

2. The tree that bears the fruit; almond tree.

3. Anything shaped like an almond. Specifically: (Anat.) One of the tonsils.

   Almond oil, fixed oil expressed from sweet or bitter almonds.

   Oil of bitter almonds, a poisonous volatile oil obtained from bitter almonds by maceration and distillation; benzoic aldehyde.

   Imitation oil of bitter almonds, nitrobenzene.

   Almond tree (Bot.), the tree bearing the almond.

   Almond willow (Bot.), a willow which has leaves that are of a light green on both sides; almond-leaved willow ( Salix amygdalina).
   --Shenstone.

c.1300, from Old French almande, amande, from Vulgar Latin *amendla, *amandula, from Latin amygdala (plural), from Greek amygdalos "an almond tree," which is of unknown origin, perhaps a Semitic word. Altered in Medieval Latin by influence of amandus "loveable," and acquiring in French an excrescent -l- perhaps from Spanish almendra "almond," which got it via confusion with the Arabic definite article al-, which formed the beginnings of many Spanish words. Applied to eyes shaped like almonds, especially of certain Asiatic peoples, from 1870.

a. brownish, resembling the colour of an almond nut. n. 1 (context countable English) A type of tree nut. 2 (context countable English) A small deciduous tree in family Rosaceae, ''Prunus dulcis'', that produces almonds. 3 Other plants that produce almond-like nuts: 4 # (taxlink Prunus japonica species noshow=1), (vern flowering almond pedia=1), an ornamental shrub in family Rosaceae 5 # (taxlink Prunus andersonii species noshow=1), (vern desert almond pedia=1), a North American shrub in family Rosaceae 6 # (taxlink Prunus fasciculata species noshow=1), (vern desert range almond pedia=1) or (vern wild almond pedia=1), North American shrub in family Rosaceae 7 # (taxlink Terminalia catappa species noshow=1), (vern Indian almond pedia=1) or (vern tropical almond pedia=1), in family Combretaceae 8 # (taxlink Brabejum stellatifolium species noshow=1), (vern wild almond pedia=1) or (vern bitter almond pedia=1), in family Proteaceae 9 (context uncountable English) The colour of the kernel of an almond without its shell and thin seed coat, a creamy off-white colour. 10 (context uncountable English) The color of an almond still covered by its skin, a shade of brown. 11 Anything shaped like an almond; specifically, (context anatomy archaic English) a tonsil.

1. n. small bushy deciduous tree native to Asia and North Africa having pretty pink blossoms and highly prized edible nuts enclosed in a hard green hull; cultivated in southern Australia and California [syn: sweet almond, Prunus dulcis, Prunus amygdalus, Amygdalus communis]

2. oval-shaped edible seed of the almond tree

The almond (Prunus dulcis, syn. Prunus amygdalus) is a species of tree native to the Middle East, the Indian Subcontinent and North Africa.

"Almond" is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree. Within the genus Prunus, it is classified with the peach in the subgenus Amygdalus, distinguished from the other subgenera by the corrugated shell ( endocarp) surrounding the seed.

The fruit of the almond is a drupe, consisting of an outer hull and a hard shell with the seed, which is not a true nut, inside. Shelling almonds refers to removing the shell to reveal the seed. Almonds are sold shelled or unshelled. Blanched almonds are shelled almonds that have been treated with hot water to soften the seedcoat, which is then removed to reveal the white embryo.

Almond is a tree in the Rosaceae family and the seed from that tree, but may also refer to:

Almond is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:

• Steve Almond, American author
• Edward Almond, American military officer
• Gabriel Almond, American Prolific Political Scientist
• Hely Hutchinson Almond (1832 – 1903), Scottish physician and politician
• James Lindsay Almond, Jr., Governor of Virginia
• John Almond (monk) (died 1585), British Cistercian monk
• John Almond (martyr) (c. 1577 – 1612), British saint; one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales
• John Almond (footballer) (1915 – 1993), British footballer who played for Stoke City and Tranmere Rovers
• John Almond, British flautist-saxophonist, member of Mark-Almond
• Johnny Almond, British musician
• Lincoln Almond, Governor of Rhode Island
• Marc Almond, English vocalist and recording artist
• Mark Almond, British writer
• Morris Almond (born 1985), American basketball player
• David Almond, British writer
• Paul Almond, Canadian television and motion picture director and novelist