nut

nut
\ \ [OE] Nut is a member of a restricted family of Indo-European ‘nut’-words, present only in the Germanic, Romance, and Celtic languages, that were derived ultimately from the Indo-European base *knu-, denoting ‘lump’. Latin nux (source of French noix, Italian noce, and Spanish nuez) came from an extended base *knuk-. Its derivative nucleus ‘nut, kernel’ has given English nucleus [18] and nuclear [19], and Vulgar Latin *nucātum is the source of English nougat [19]. The Germanic branch of the family, on the other hand, comes from an extended base *knut-, which has produced German nuss, Dutch noot, Swedish nöt, Danish nød, and English nut.
\ \ The adjectival use of the plural, nuts, for ‘crazy’ dates back to the mid-19th century. It came from the metaphorical application of nut to ‘head’ – hence off one’s nut ‘deranged’, and in due course nuts.
\ \ Cf.⇒ NOUGAT, NUCLEAR, NUCLEUS

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • Nut — (n[u^]t), n. [OE. nute, note, AS. hnutu; akin to D. noot, G. nuss, OHG. nuz, Icel. hnot, Sw. n[ o]t, Dan. n[ o]d.] [1913 Webster] 1. (Bot.) The fruit of certain trees and shrubs (as of the almond, walnut, hickory, beech, filbert, etc.),… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Nut — may refer to: Nut (fruit), the large, usually oily seed of some plants (such as a hazelnut, chestnut, etc.) Nut grass, (Cyperus rotundus) sometimes known as the World s worst weed . Nut (hardware), a fastener used with a bolt Nut (climbing), a… …   Wikipedia

  • nut — NUT, nuturi, s.n. 1. Canelură. 2. Uluc, şanţ făcut într o piesă de lemn. ♢ Nut şi feder = sistem de îmbinare a două piese (din lemn) care constă în introducerea unei proeminenţe fasonate, aflată pe una din feţele primei piese, în ulucul de pe… …   Dicționar Român

  • Nut — Nut, o Nuit, La Grande que parió a los dioses , es la diosa del cielo, creadora del universo y los astros, según la mitología egipcia. Nut, desnuda, con el cuerpo arqueado a modo de bóveda celeste, sobre su marido Geb (la Tierra). El padre de Nut …   Wikipedia Español

  • Nut — Nut, als Tätigkeit Nuten, als Vorgang oder Ergebnis Nutung, bezeichnet: Nut (Fertigungstechnik), in der Technik eine längliche Vertiefung Nutung (Papiertechnik), eine herausgespante Vertiefung, damit das dickere Papier beim Falzen nicht bricht… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • NUT — bezeichnet: Nut (Fertigungstechnik), in der Technik eine längliche Vertiefung in der Papierverarbeitung eine Vertiefung, damit das dickere Papier beim Falzen nicht bricht, siehe Nutung Nut (Ägyptische Mythologie), die Himmelsgöttin in der… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Nütəh —   Municipality   …   Wikipedia

  • Nut — Container NUT Extension de fichier .nut Développé par MPlayer et FFmpeg Type de format Format conteneur Spécification Format ouvert NUT est un conteneur multimédia libre e …   Wikipédia en Français

  • nut — (n.) hard seed, O.E. hnutu, from P.Gmc. *khnut (Cf. O.N. hnot, Du. noot, O.H.G. hnuz, Ger. nuß nut ), from PIE *kneu nut (Cf. L. nux; see NUCLEUS (Cf. nucleus)). Sense of testicle is attes …   Etymology dictionary

  • nut — ► NOUN 1) a fruit consisting of a hard or tough shell around an edible kernel. 2) the hard kernel of such a fruit. 3) a small flat piece of metal or other material, typically square or hexagonal, with a threaded hole through it for screwing on to …   English terms dictionary

  • nut — [nut] n. [ME nutte < OE hnutu, akin to Ger nuss < IE * kneu , lump, nut (< base * ken , to squeeze together) > L nux, MIr cnū] 1. the dry, one seeded fruit of any of various trees or shrubs, consisting of a kernel, often edible, in a… …   English World dictionary

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