Pinyons

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Cones or seeds of certain pine trees found mainly in the southwestern US; the trees that produce these edible seeds; the edible seeds themselves used as food
2. The nut-bearing cones of small pine species native to arid regions; these pine varieties that yield edible seeds; the seeds extracted from these cones commonly eaten by humans
3. The seeds produced by specific pinyon pine trees; the trees that are known for producing these nutritious seeds; the cones or clusters that hold these seeds found in dry climates

Etymology: "Pinyons" is the plural of "pinyon," the nut-bearing pine species of arid regions, and the word itself is an inflected form, so its history is that of the singular. The singular came into English from Spanish "piñón," meaning pine nut or the pine that bears it, and that Spanish word descends from Latin "pinea," the stone pine, derived from "pinus," pine tree. The Spanish form was the kernel of the cone, a small edible nut inside a hard shell, which is why the name ended up attached to the seed as well as the tree.

Synonyms: pine nuts