filbert

filbert
/fil"beuhrt/, n.
1. the thick-shelled, edible nut of certain cultivated varieties of hazel, esp. of Corylus avellana, of Europe.
2. a tree or shrub bearing such nuts.
[1250-1300; ME, short for filbert nut, so called because ripe by Aug. 22 (St. Philbert's day)]

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Any of about 15 species of deciduous trees and shrubs that make up the genus Corylus, in the birch family, native to the northern temperate zone; also, the edible nuts they produce.

Choice nuts are produced by two Eurasian trees, the European filbert (C. avellana) and the giant filbert (C. maxima), and by hybrids of these species. Some varieties are valuable hedgerow and ornamental trees. An oil from C. avellana is used in food products, perfumes, and soaps; the tree yields a soft, reddish-white timber that is useful for small articles such as tool handles and walking sticks.

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tree
also called  Hazel,  
 any of about 15 species of shrubs and trees constituting the genus Corylus in the birch family (Betulaceae) and the edible nuts they produce. The former common name for the genus was hazel; various species were termed filbert, hazelnut, or cobnut, depending on the relative length of the nut to its husk. This distinction was found to be misleading, and filbert became the common name for the genus in the U.S. The term cobnut is limited to a commercial variety of one species; the Jamaican cobnut has a similar flavour but is an unrelated plant of the family Euphorbiaceae. The terms hazel and hazelnut, however, are still in popular use.

      Filberts, native to the North Temperate Zone, are deciduous; their leaves are alternate, serrate, obovate, and hairy. The plants range from 3 to 36 metres (10 to 120 feet) in height. In late winter a profusion of yellow male catkins and smaller, red-centred clusters of female flowers appears on the same tree. The brown, roundish or oblong nut, usually one to four centimetres (1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches) long, is partly or wholly enclosed in a husk.

      Choice nuts are produced by two Eurasian trees, the European filbert (Corylus avellana) and the giant filbert (C. maxima), and by hybrids of these species with two American shrubs, the American filbert (C. americana) and the beaked filbert (C. cornuta), popularly called hazelnuts. The large cobnut is a variety of the European filbert; Lambert's filbert is a variety of the giant filbert. Nuts produced by the Turkish filbert (C. colurna) are sold commercially as Constantinople nuts. Barcelona nuts come from the Spanish, or Barcelona, filbert, usually considered a variety of the giant filbert. Turkey, Italy, and Spain are the leading commercial producers of filberts.

      California, Chinese, Japanese, Manchurian, Tibetan, and Turkish filberts are valuable hedgerow and ornamental trees. Both C. avellana and C. americana are grown for their colourful autumnal foliage. An oil from the European filbert is used in food products, perfumes, and soaps; the tree yields a soft, reddish white timber, useful for small articles such as tool handles and walking sticks.

      Filberts are deep-rooted, moderately shade-tolerant trees, which fruit best in well-drained soil and in full sun.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • filbert — fil bert, n. [Perh. fr. fill + bread, as filling the bread or husk; cf. G. bartnuss (lit., bread nut) filbert; or perh. named from a St.Philibert, whose day, Aug. 22, fell in the nutting season.] 1. (Bot.) The fruit of the {Corylus Avellana} or… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Filbert — ist der Name mehrerer Orte in den Vereinigten Staaten: Filbert (Pennsylvania) Filbert (South Carolina) Filbert (West Virginia) Person: Alfred Filbert (1905–1990), deutscher SS Obersturmbannführer Diese Seite ist eine …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • filbert — (n.) hazelnut, late 14c., from Anglo Fr. philber (late 13c.), from Norman dialect noix de filbert, in reference to St. Philbert, 7c. Frankish abbot, so called because the hazel nuts ripen near his feast day, Aug. 22 (Old Style). Weekley compares… …   Etymology dictionary

  • Filbert — can mean the following:* Corylus maxima , a species of hazel nut *Filbert, West Virginia *a type of artists paintbrush with an elongated flat bristle with a rounded or circular tip *Filburt, a character of the TV show Rocko s Modern Life *Slang:… …   Wikipedia

  • filbert — ► NOUN ▪ a cultivated oval hazelnut. ORIGIN from French noix de filbert (so named because it is ripe about 20 August, the feast day of St Philibert) …   English terms dictionary

  • filbert — [fil′bərt] n. [ME filberde, philliberd, prob. via NormFr ( noix de) filbert, (nut of) Philibert, after St. Philibert, whose feast came in the nutting season] 1. the edible nut of a hazel, esp. of a cultivated European tree (Corylus avellana or C …   English World dictionary

  • filbert — [14] Hazelnuts begin to ripen around the end of August, and so in medieval times they were named after Saint Philibert, a 7th century Frankish abbot whose feast day falls on the 22nd of that month. Thus in Anglo Norman they were *noix de… …   The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins

  • filbert — noun 1》 a cultivated oval hazelnut. 2》 the tree that bears filberts. [Corylus maxima and other species.] 3》 (also filbert brush) a brush with bristles forming a flattened oval head, used in oil painting. Origin ME fylberd, from Anglo Norman Fr.… …   English new terms dictionary

  • filbert — paprastasis lazdynas statusas T sritis vardynas apibrėžtis Lazdyninių šeimos dekoratyvinis, maistinis, vaistinis augalas (Corylus avellana), vedantis valgomus riešutus. Iš jo lapų gaunamas eterinis aliejus. Paplitęs Europoje ir Azijoje.… …   Lithuanian dictionary (lietuvių žodynas)

  • filbert — [14] Hazelnuts begin to ripen around the end of August, and so in medieval times they were named after Saint Philibert, a 7th century Frankish abbot whose feast day falls on the 22nd of that month. Thus in Anglo Norman they were *noix de… …   Word origins

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