cashew means any tree of the genus Anacardium.
cashew is pronounced /ˈkæʃuː/.
Why “cashew” is a great word
An edible seed, kidney-shaped and rich with oil, harvested from the tropical tree *Anacardium occidentale*, or the tree itself, which bears both this nut and a swollen accessory fruit known as the cashew apple. From French *acajou*, reanalyzed as *a + cajou*, from Portuguese *acajú*, from Old Tupi *akaîu* or *acajuba*, meaning 'nut that produces itself,' first attested in English c. 1703. Unlike 'almond,' the seed of a Mediterranean drupe, or 'peanut,' the underground fruit of a legume, the cashew is a singular botanical oddity—a true nut born from a tropical curiosity. It is the caustic burn of unprocessed shells, the labor of roasting to leach the cardol, and the final, butter-smooth reward for such perilous preparation. The cashew teaches that edibility is earned, that some fruits wear their seeds on the outside, as if to show what other trees keep hidden.
Etymology
Reanalysis of French acajou as a + cajou, from Old Tupi akaîu. Doublet of acajou.
noun
- Any tree of the genus Anacardium.
- A tree, Anacardium occidentale, native to northeastern Brazil, now widely grown in tropical climates for its cashew nuts and cashew apples.e.g.“Soft-wood grafting and veneer grafting are successful in cashew.” — 2002, P. K. Ray, Breeding Tropical and Subtropical Fruits, page 221:
- A cashew nut.e.g.“In some countries, cashews continue to be cracked manually although cracking machinery and other shelling mechanisms have been introduced.” — 1996, Thomas Payne, “17: Nuts”, in Laszlo Somogyi, Diane M. Barrett, Y. H. Hui, editors, Processing Fruits, page 529:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- acajou 70% match — The cashew tree. vs cashew →
- anacardic 69% match — Pertaining to cashews (Anacardium occidentale). vs cashew →
- cashewlike 67% match — Resembling or characteristic of a cashew nut. vs cashew →
- cacahuananche 59% match — A tree of the American tropics from Mexico to Brazil, Licania arborea, whose nuts produce an oil used for soap, candles, etc. vs cashew →
- cupuassu 58% match — A tropical fruit tree related to cacao, Thebroma grandiflora, the source of an edible fruit whose seeds can be used like cocoa beans. vs cashew →
- annona 58% match — custard apple (tree of the genus Annona and its fruit) vs cashew →
- anacardol 55% match — A natural product, of uncertain structure, isolated from the seeds of Anacardium occidentale. vs cashew →
- anacardiaceous 55% match — Of or relating to the family Anacardiaceae of cashews and sumacs. vs cashew →