nut English · revision 10396

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 700|origins=gem-pro *hnuts|origins=ine-pro *knew-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /nʌt/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English nute, note, [[inh|ang|hnutu|t=nut]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from Proto-Germanic *hnut-,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) source also of Dutch noot, German [[m|de|Nuss]] and Old Norse hnot,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from PIE *kneu-, nut,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) source also of Old Irish cnū, Welsh cneuen and Latin [[m|la|nux|t=nut]] (see [[nucleus]]).^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(Cresswell 2021) Barnhart notes that the word is found only in the westernmost Indo-European languages, Celtic, Germanic and Italic.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A fruit with a hard shell enclosing a kernel: about 700 in Barnhart, about 875 in the OED.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ As a symbol of something trifling it is from about 1300, and ''nut-brown'' is from the same time.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) Nut was used of small mechanical pieces from the early 15th century,^(Etymonline) and the small threaded block screwed onto a bolt is first recorded in 1611.^(Barnhart 1988) The informal sense, a person's head, lies behind ''do one's nut'' and ''off one's nut'', drunk or insane (1860).^(Cresswell 2021)^(Barnhart 1988) A crazy person or crank is first recorded in 1903, in American English,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) an enthusiast in the early 20th century,^(Cresswell 2021) and a showy young man of fashion in 1904.^(Etymonline) The testicles (''nuts'') are by 1915.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) The sum of money needed for something is American slang by 1912,^(Etymonline) and ''nuts and bolts'', fundamentals, is by 1952.^(Etymonline) ''Nut-house'' is by 1929, ''nutcase'' from 1959, and British ''nutter'' by 1958.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 700 – a nut.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1300 – nut-brown.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1611 – a nut for a bolt.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1860 – off one's nut.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1903 – a crazy person.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1915 – the testicles.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1952 – nuts and bolts.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A hard-shelled fruit containing an edible kernel, such as a hazelnut, or the kernel itself.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A small block with a threaded hole that screws onto a [[bolt]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(informal)'' A crazy or eccentric person.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(informal)'' An enthusiast: ''a baseball nut''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(slang)'' The human head.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A difficult problem: ''a hard nut to crack''.^(AHD)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To gather nuts.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[nutter]]

+ * [[nutlike]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[nuts]]

+ * [[nutty]]

+ * [[nucleus]]

+ * [[nougat]]

+ * [[walnut]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ In Nottinghamshire dialect, to nut up was to push or move slightly, to nudge.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}