Nutlets

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Small, typically immature seeds or fruits found in a pod or cluster
2. a diminutive version of a nut that can develop into a full nut upon maturing
3. tiny, hard parts of certain plants that contribute to reproduction and can vary in number and size

Etymology: "Nutlets" is the plural of "nutlet," a word built in English from "nut" and the diminutive suffix "-let." That suffix came into Middle English from Old French "-elet," which in turn descended from Latin "-ellus" and "-ittus," both used to mark something small. So a nutlet is, quite literally, a little nut. The base word traces back much further. "Nut" comes from Old English "hnutu," which goes back to a Proto-Germanic form "*hnuts," and the same root gives the modern English word directly, with the initial "h" dropped over time. The plant sense of the word, a hard fruit with a single seed enclosed in a tough shell, is the older core meaning that the suffix then shrinks down.

Synonyms: seed, kernel