Dictionary

pecan en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio
• /ˈpiːkæn/ (Australia, Canada, UK)
• /pəˈkɔːn/
• /piːˈkɑːn/ most common US pronunciation except in New York, New England and coastal Southeast
• (US) audio
• /ˈpɪkæn/ uncommon coastal New England variant
• /ˈpiːkən/ (Australia, New-Zealand, UK)
• /pɪˈkɑːn/ (UK)
• /pɪˈkɔːn/ (Louisiana)
• /pəˈkɒn/ (Canada)
• /pəˈkɑːn/ occasional US unstressed pronunciation
• (US) audio
• /pɪˈkæn/ UK, Canada, very rarely US
• /piːˈkæn/ (Australia, Canada, New-Zealand, US, rare)
• /ˈpiːkɑːn/ chiefly Upper Midwestern US
• /pɪˈkɑːn/ (Midwestern-US)
• /ˈpiːkæn/ New York, New England, coastal southeastern Southern US
• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

Borrowed from French pacane and at first spelt paccan. The French word derives from an Algonquian word, perhaps Miami (Illinois) pakani. Compare Cree pakan (“hard nut”), Ojibwe bagaan, Abenaki pagann, bagôn, pagôn (“nut; walnut, hazelnut”).

Meanings

1. A deciduous tree, Carya illinoinensis, of the central and southern United States, having deeply furrowed bark, pinnately compound leaves, and edible nuts.
   • And away on the farther bank, a motte of huge pecans, standing like giant sentinels over the dwarfed landscape, filled the eye with remote vistas in their shady, twilight aisles. It was very still. 1885, Howard Seely, A Ranchman's stories, page 154:
   • Within its ornamental fence, the 8/10-acre property includes several of the largest live oaks in the area — plus huge pecans and stately magnolias. 1978 April, Texas Monthly, page 51:
2. A smooth, thin-shelled, edible oval nut of this tree.
   • MEG. […] (Meg takes out two pecans and tries to open them by cracking them together.) Come on ... Crack, you demons! Crack! LENNY. We have a nutcracker! MEG. (Trying with her teeth.) Ah, where's the sport in a nutcracker? Where's the challenge? 1982, Beth Henley, Crimes of the heart, page 17:
3. A half of the edible portion of the inside of this nut.
   • Each shell contains two pecans, usually plump and oblong in shape, although some varieties are round or pointed. 2005, in The Condensed Encyclopedia of Healing Foods (Joseph Pizzorno, Lara Pizzorno; Atria Books)

Forms

Deriveds

pecan truffle · hican · pecan pie · pecan weevil · pecan sandy · pecan tree

Translations (68)

ru пека́н (tree) · el πεκάν (nut) · nl pecannoot (nut) · es nuez pecana (nut) · pt pecã (nut) · cy coeden becan (tree) · es pacana (nut) · akz ochahobaski (nut) · uk горі́х-пека́н (tree) · pl pekan (nut) · sw pekani (nut) · sl pekanov oreh (nut) · no pecannøtt (nut) · sl pekan (nut) · fr pacane (nut) · eo pekano (nut) · uk оли́вковий горі́х (tree) · ar بِيكَان (nut) · ko 피칸 (nut) · es nuez encarcelada (nut) · es pecán (nut) · sv pekannöt (nut) · ca pacana (nut) · es pacanero (tree) · es pacana (tree) · pt nogueira-pecã (tree) · sv pekanhickory (tree) · is pekanhneta (nut) · de Pekannuss (nut) · ru пека́н (nut) · fr noix de pécan (nut) · fi pekaanipähkinäpuu (tree) · unm kansèm (nut) · ar بَقَّان (nut) · es pacano (tree) · ca pacaner (tree) · es pecano (tree) · pl orzesznik jadalny (tree) · es pecán (tree) · sh пекан (nut) · ga cnó peacáin (nut) · ko 피칸 (tree) · de Pekannussbaum (tree) · ja ペカン (tree) · cy pecan (nut) · ja ペカンナッツ (nut) · pl pekan (tree) · uk горі́х-пека́н (nut) · tr pekan ağacı (tree) · es pecana (tree) · sh pekan (nut) · sh pekan (tree) · fr pacanier (tree) · cmn 碧根果 (nut) · chr ᏐᎯ ᎠᏂᏅᎯᏓ (nut) · tr pekan cevizi (nut) · ga crann cnó peacáin (tree) · sh пекан (tree) · cmn 美國山核桃 /美国山核桃 (nut) · ar بَقَّان (tree) · es nuez de la isla (nut) · sl pekan (tree) · da pekannød (nut) · es pecana (nut) · sl pekanov oreh (tree) · ja ピーカンナッツ (nut) · fi pekaanipähkinä (nut) · sw mpekani (tree)