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Nut (Egyptian goddess)

nut

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English | 2009 | Copyright

nut / nət/ • n. 1. a fruit consisting of a hard or tough shell around an edible kernel. ∎  the hard kernel of such a fruit. ∎ inf. a person's head. ∎  (usu. nuts) vulgar slang testicles. 2. a small flat piece of metal or other material, typically square or hexagonal, with a threaded hole through it for screwing onto a bolt as a fastener. ∎  Mus. the part at the lower end of the bow of a violin or similar instrument, with a screw for adjusting the tension of the hair. 3. inf. a crazy or eccentric person. ∎  a person who is excessively interested in or enthusiastic about a specified thing: a football nut. 4. the fixed ridge on the neck of a stringed instrument over which the strings pass. • v. (nut·ted , nut·ting ) [intr.] [usu. as n.] (nutting) archaic gather nuts. PHRASES: nuts and bolts inf. the basic practical details: the nuts and bolts of public policy. off one's nut inf. out of one's mind; crazy. a tough (or hard) nut inf. someone who is difficult to deal with; a formidable person. a tough (or hard) nut to crack inf. a difficult problem or an opponent hard to beat.DERIVATIVES: nut·like / -ˌlīk/ adj.

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"nut." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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nut

The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable | 2006 | | Copyright

nut in Middle English a nut was sometimes taken as the type of something small and of little value; the English anchoress and mystic Julian of Norwich (1343–1416), in her Revelations of Divine Love, uses the image of a hazelnut in this way, as the type of something insignificant which is still loved by God.

The children's nursery rhyme ‘I had a little nut tree’ relates that ‘the King of Spain's daughter’ came to visit the nut-tree's owner; it has been suggested that this is a reference to the visit to Henry VII's court made in 1506 by Juana of Castile, sister of Catherine of Aragon.

The hard shell of a nut also gives rise to expressions such as a hard nut to crack for a difficult problem.

See also the gods send nuts to those who have no teeth, take a sledgehammer to crack a nut.
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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "nut." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "nut." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-nut.html

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Nut

Myths and Legends of the World | 2001 | Copyright

Nut

In Egyptian mythology, Nut was the sky goddess and the mother goddess of ancient Egypt. Egyptian artists often portrayed her as a woman arched over the earth god Geb, her twin brother and husband, with her fingers and toes touching the ground. Typically, her body was painted blue and covered with stars.

Nut and Geb, the children of the god Shu (Air) and goddess Tefnut (Moisture), were born locked together in a tight embrace. The sun god Ra ordered Shu to separate them, so Shu held his daughter high above the earth, creating room between Nut and Geb for other creatures to live. In another version of the myth, Ra climbed onto Nut's back and asked her to lift him into the heavens. As Nut rose higher, she became dizzy, but four gods steadied her legs, and Shu held up the middle of her body. In this way Nut's body became the sky, and Ra attached stars to her.

Angered by the marriage of Nut and Geb, Ra decreed that Nut could not bear children during any month of the year. Thoth, the god of wisdom, took pity on Nut and played a game with the moon—the regulator of time—that allowed him to create five extra days in the year. Because these days were not covered by Ra's decree, Nut was able to give birth to five children: Osiris*, Isis*, Set*, Nephthys, and Horus.

Nut's body divided the cosmos and helped keep the forces of chaos from breaking through the sky and overwhelming the earth. During the day, Ra sailed

*See Names and Places at the end of this volume for further information.

along Nut's body in a boat. When he reached her mouth, she swallowed him, bringing on the night. After traveling through Nut's body at night, Ra emerged again at dawn and brought on the day. In some myths, Nut plays an important role in the underworld, providing fresh air for the souls of the dead.

See also Egyptian Mythology ; ISIS ; Osiris ; RΑ (Re) ; Thoth .

cosmos the universe, especially as an orderly and harmonious system

chaos great disorder or confusion underworld land of the dead
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nut

A Dictionary of Biology | 2004 | Copyright

nut A dry single-seeded fruit that develops from more than one carpel and does not shed its seed when ripe. The fruit wall is woody or leathery. Many nuts are enclosed in a hard or membranous cup-shaped structure, the cupule. The term nut is often loosely used of any hard fruit. For example, the walnut and coconut are in fact drupes and the Brazil nut is a seed.
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nut

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music | 1996 | | Copyright

nut.
1. On a str. instr., the slight ridge over which the str. pass on leaving the pegs. On a ukelele and similar instr. a moveable nut is placed on the fingerboard which can shorten all str. equally and thus raise the pitch.

2. Device at the heel of the bow of a vn., etc., which adjusts the tension of the bow-hairs.
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MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "nut." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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nut

The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea | 2006 | Copyright

nut, the ball on the end of the stock of an Admiralty pattern anchor. Its purpose is to prevent the stock from penetrating the ground, thus forcing it to lie flat on the bottom so that the flukes, at right angles to the stock, are driven into the ground to provide good holding.
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nut

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology | 1996 | | Copyright

nut OE. hnutu = MLG. note, MDu. note, neute (Du. noot, neut), OHG. (h)nuz (G. nuss), ON. hnot :- Gmc. *xnut-; cf. OIr. cnū, W. cneuen (pl. cnau); further L. nux, nuc-, in which *kn- is reduced to n, but which has an extension in -k-, whereas the Gmc. langs. have -t-.
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T. F. HOAD. "nut." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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nut

A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture | 2000 | | Copyright

nut.
1. Any fruit with seed in a hard shell, often found in architectural ornament. Certain nuts, e.g. acorns, occur as finials or other terminations.

2. Metal piece, pierced and wormed with a female screw, used to make a bolt fast, or at the end of a metal tie.
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JAMES STEVENS CURL. "nut." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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Nut

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. | 2008 | Copyright

Nut , in Egyptian religion, sky-goddess. She was the sister-wife of the earth god Geb, to whom she bore Osiris, Isis, Set, and Nephthys. She was sometimes represented with her hands and feet on the earth and the curve of her body forming the vault of heaven.

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nut

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. | 2008 | Copyright

nut in botany, a dry one-seeded fruit which is indehiscent (i.e., does not split open along a definite seam at maturity). Among the true nuts are the acorn, chestnut, and hazelnut. Commonly the word nut is used for any seed or fruit having an edible kernel surrounded by a hard or brittle covering. Thus the peanut pod is actually a legume, the Brazil nut is a seed enclosed with others in a capsule, and the almond is part of a drupe, a type of fruit that includes olives and peaches. Others that are not botanically true nuts are the cashew, coconut, litchi, pistachio, and walnut. Most nuts have a high content of oil; in addition they may contain substantial amounts of protein, carbohydrates, minerals, and vitamins. Although nuts were originally harvested from wild trees, this century has seen the increasing cultivation of nut orchards—especially in warmer climates—for commercial production both for food and for byproducts.

Bibliography: See J. G. Woodroof, Tree Nuts (2 vol., 1967); R. A. Jaynes, ed., Handbook of North American Nut Trees (rev. ed. 1973).

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nut

World Encyclopedia | 2005 | Copyright

nut Dry, one-seeded fruit with a hard, woody or stony wall. It develops from a flower that has petals attached above the ovary. Examples include acorns and hazelnuts.
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Nut

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English | 2009 | Copyright

Nut / noōt/ Egyptian Mythol. the sky goddess, thought to swallow the sun at night and give birth to it in the morning.

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nut

A Dictionary of Plant Sciences | 1998 | | Copyright

nut A dry, indehiscent, woody fruit.
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MICHAEL ALLABY. "nut." A Dictionary of Plant Sciences. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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nut

Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes | 2007 | Copyright

nut •abut, but, butt, cut, glut, gut, hut, intercut, jut, Mut, mutt, nut, phut, putt, rut, scut, shortcut, shut, slut, smut, strut, tut, undercut •sackbut • scuttlebutt • catgut •midgut • Vonnegut • rotgut • haircut •offcut • cross-cut • linocut • crew cut •woodcut • uppercut • chestnut •hazelnut • peanut • wing nut • cobnut •locknut • walnut • groundnut •doughnut (US donut) • coconut •butternut

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Free newspaper and magazine articles

NUTS TO YOU!
Newspaper article from: Nutrition Action Healthletter; 11/1/2005
Going nuts: sorting through the claims.(BRAND-NAME RATING)(Report)
Newspaper article from: Nutrition Action Healthletter; 10/1/2009
Nuts offer a host of healthy nutrients.(HEALTHY EATING)
Magazine article from: Food &amp; Fitness Advisor; 8/1/2009

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