cashew Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun tropical American evergreen tree bearing kidney-shaped nuts that are edible only when roasted
    cashew tree; Anacardium occidentale.
  2. noun kidney-shaped nut edible only when roasted
    cashew nut.

WordNet

Ca*shew" noun
Etymology
F. acajou, for cajou, prob. from Malay kayu tree; cf. Pg. acaju, cf. Acajou.
Definitions
  1. (Bot.) A tree (Anacardium occidentale) of the same family which the sumac. It is native in tropical America, but is now naturalized in all tropical countries. Its fruit, a kidney-shaped nut, grows at the extremity of an edible, pear-shaped hypocarp, about three inches long.

Webster 1913