Hypertext Webster Gateway: "almond"
From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary (easton)
Almond
a native of Syria and Palestine. In form, blossoms, and fruit it
resembles the peach tree. Its blossoms are of a very pale pink
colour, and appear before its leaves. Its Hebrew name, _shaked_,
signifying "wakeful, hastening," is given to it on account of
its putting forth its blossoms so early, generally in February,
and sometimes even in January. In Eccl. 12:5, it is referred to
as illustrative, probably, of the haste with which old age
comes. There are others, however, who still contend for the old
interpretation here. "The almond tree bears its blossoms in the
midst of winter, on a naked, leafless stem, and these blossoms
(reddish or flesh-coloured in the beginning) seem at the time of
their fall exactly like white snow-flakes. In this way the
almond blossom is a very fitting symbol of old age, with its
silvery hair and its wintry, dry, barren, unfruitful condition."
In Jer. 1:11 "I see a rod of an almond tree [shaked]...for I
will hasten [shaked] my word to perform it" the word is used as
an emblem of promptitude. Jacob desired his sons (Gen. 43:11) to
take with them into Egypt of the best fruits of the land,
almonds, etc., as a present to Joseph, probably because this
tree was not a native of Egypt. Aaron's rod yielded almonds
(Num. 17:8; Heb. 9:4). Moses was directed to make certain parts
of the candlestick for the ark of carved work "like unto
almonds" (Ex. 25:33, 34). The Hebrew word _luz_, translated
"hazel" in the Authorized Version (Gen. 30:37), is rendered in
the Revised Version "almond." It is probable that _luz_ denotes
the wild almond, while _shaked_ denotes the cultivated variety.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Almond \Alm"ond\ ([aum]"m[u^]nd), n. [OE. almande, almaunde,
alemaunde, F. amande, L. amygdala, fr. Gr. 'amygda`lh: cf.
Sp. almendra. Cf. {Amygdalate}.]
1. The fruit of the almond tree.
Note: The different kinds, as bitter, sweet, thin-shelled,
thick-shelled almonds, and Jordan almonds, are the
products of different varieties of the one species,
{Amygdalus communis}, a native of the Mediterranean
region and western Asia.
2. The tree that bears the fruit; almond tree.
3. Anything shaped like an almond. Specifically: (Anat.) One
of the tonsils.
{Almond oil}, fixed oil expressed from sweet or bitter
almonds.
{Oil of bitter almonds}, a poisonous volatile oil obtained
from bitter almonds by maceration and distillation;
benzoic aldehyde.
{Imitation oil of bitter almonds}, nitrobenzene.
{Almond tree} (Bot.), the tree bearing the almond.
{Almond willow} (Bot.), a willow which has leaves that are of
a light green on both sides; almond-leaved willow ({Salix
amygdalina}). --Shenstone.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
almond
n 1: small bushy deciduous tree native to Asia and North Africa
having pretty pink blossoms and highly prized edible
nuts enclosed in a hard green hull; cultivated in
southern Australia and California [syn: {sweet almond},
{Prunus dulcis}, {Prunus amygdalus}, {Amygdalus communis}]
2: oval-shaped edible seed of the almond tree
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