hickory

n. (pl. -ies) 1 n. American tree yielding wood and nutlike edible fruits. 2 the tough heavy wood of this. [virginian pohickery]

n. An American tree of the genus Carya, of which there are several species. The shagbark is the C. alba, and has a very rough bark; it affords the hickory nut of the markets. The pignut, or brown hickory, is the C. glabra. The swamp hickory is C. amara, having a nut whose shell is very thin and the kernel bitter.