Spanish word

piñón

Pronunciation

IPA/piˈɲon/

Meaning

  • masculine nounpine nut

Example

Me gustan los piñones en la ensalada.

I like pine nuts in the salad.

Illustration for piñón (pine nut)

More examples

Compré una bolsa de piñones para preparar pesto.

I bought a bag of pine nuts to make pesto.

Core concept

Small pale nutlike seed commonly used whole in cooking.

Common phrases

  • comer piñones

    eat pine nuts

  • ensalada con piñones

    salad with pine nuts

  • bolsa de piñones

    bag of pine nuts

Similar words

nuez de pino: Pine-tree seed collected from cones, sold for culinary use.
nuez: Hard-shelled edible seed or kernel commonly consumed as a nut.
almendra: Oval, slightly flattened tree seed with a mild sweet flavor and firm texture.
semilla: Small botanical seed containing an embryo for growing a new plant.

Definition in Spanish

Semilla pequeña y comestible de algunos pinos, que se extrae de la piña; también, por semejanza de forma o función, se usa para nombrar un engranaje pequeño o la parte triangular de un tejado.

Word origin

The word comes from Spanish piña and Latin pinus 'pine', originally naming the seeds of certain pines and then extended to machinery (a pinion gear) and to a triangular gable element.

Usage tips

  • Culinary contexts (salads, sauces, baking) almost always indicate the seed meaning, while engineering or architectural contexts point to the gear or roof sense.

Other meanings

  • pinionnoun

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