nut

Any dry, single-seeded fruit that does not split open to release the seed, such as the chestnut. A nut is formed from more than one carpel, but only one seed becomes fully formed, the remainder aborting. The wall of the fruit, the pericarp, becomes hard and woody, forming the outer shell.

Examples of true nuts are the acorn and hazelnut. The term also describes various hard-shelled fruits and seeds, including almonds and walnuts, which are really the stones of drupes, and brazil nuts and shelled peanuts, which are seeds. The kernels of most nuts provide a concentrated, nutritious food, containing vitamins, minerals, and enzymes, about 50% fat, and 10–20% protein, although a few, such as chestnuts, are high in carbohydrates and have only a moderate protein content of 5%. Nuts also provide edible and industrial oils. Most nuts are produced by perennial trees and shrubs. Whereas the majority of nuts are obtained from plantations, considerable quantities of pecans and brazil nuts are still collected from the wild.

nut

On a stringed musical instrument, the ridge at one end of the fingerboard, next to the peg box, which raises the strings from the surface of the fingerboard. On some instruments, such as the ukulele, there is a movable nut, which raises the pitch of the entire instrument.

A nut is also the part of a bow which secures the horsehair at the heel and, by incorporating a screw mechanism, allows the tension of the hairs to be adjusted.

Nut

In Egyptian mythology, the goddess of the sky, daughter of the air god Shu. She is usually represented in human form, but sometimes as a cow.