Definition of "pecan" []

• A deciduous tree (Carya illinoinensis) of the central and southern United States, having deeply furrowed bark, pinnately compound leaves, and edible nuts. (noun)
• The smooth, thin-shelled oval nut of this tree. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "_Carya-ovalis_, and the pallid hickory, _Carya pallida_; while two belong to the open bud class, _Apocarya_, the pecan, _Carya pecan_, and the bitternut, _Carya cordiformis_."
• "High hopes are held that that other favorite hickory, the pecan (_H. pecan_) may be grown far outside its native range, and the Indiana pecan is the nut on which these hopes are founded."
• "Reasonable people can differ as to whether the black walnut or the pecan is the queen of nuts."