noun
- the nutlike kernel of the fruit of either of two trees, Prunus dulcis (sweet almond) or P. dulcis amara (bitter almond), which grow in warm temperate regions.
- the tree itself.
- a delicate, pale tan.
- anything shaped like an almond, especially an ornament.
adjective
- of the color, taste, or shape of an almond.
- made or flavored with almonds: almond cookies.
noun
- a small widely cultivated rosaceous tree, Prunus amygdalus, that is native to W Asia and has pink flowers and a green fruit containing an edible nutlike seed
- the oval-shaped nutlike edible seed of this plant, which has a yellowish-brown shell
- (modifier) made of or containing almondsalmond cake Related adjectives: amygdaline, amygdaloid
-
- a pale yellowish-brown colour
- (as adjective)almond wallpaper
- Also called: almond green
- yellowish-green colour
- (as adjective)an almond skirt
- anything shaped like an almond nut
c.1300, from Old French almande, amande, from Vulgar Latin *amendla, *amandula, from Latin amygdala (plural), from Greek amygdalos “an almond tree,” 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.