Macadamian.
/ˌmakəˈdeɪmɪə/, U.S. /ˌmækəˈdeɪmiə/ (a) A genus of evergreen trees of the family Proteaceae, chiefly natives of Australia, which are marked by whorled leaves and long racemes of white flowers; (also macadamia) a tree of this genus, esp. one grown for its nuts (also Macadamia tree). (b) In full Macadamia nut. Either of two Australian trees of this genus, Macadamia integrifolia and M. tetraphylla, which are cultivated, esp. in Hawaii, for their hard-shelled edible nuts; the nut obtained from either of these trees. Also called Queensland nut.
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Macadamia nut1858
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > edible nuts or nut-trees > [noun] > macadamia nut > macadamia nut tree
Macadamia1858
Queensland nut1870
1858 F. von Mueller in Trans. Philos. Inst. Victoria 2 72 Macadamia... A tree of oriental subtropical Australia, with leaves three in a whorl or rarely opposite.
1904 J. H. Maiden Forest Flora New S. Wales I. 217 Mr. Betche and I described a Macadamia..from Camden Haven, N.S.W.
1927 H. J. Rumsey Austral. Nuts 8 A rather strange feature of the Macadamia is that the nut adheres to the bottom of the exocarp or husk.
1929 M. D. Frear Our Familiar Island Trees 64 Perhaps the best of these [recent introductions to Hawaii] is the Macadamia Nut, sometimes called the Queensland Nut from its native habitat.
1949 S. A. Clark All Best in Hawaii xx. 207 Macadamia nuts call for special pause and explanation, for mainlanders seem rarely to have heard of them... A man named E. W. Jordan brought some of these nuts from Tasmania to Honolulu about the year 1890.
1949 S. A. Clark All Best in Hawaii xx. 208 Some smooth-leaf varieties of macadamia produce smaller and less sweet nuts. As a delicacy..macadamia nuts, salted and bottled, have hardly three decades of history... Several Honolulu concerns ship bottled macadamias anywhere.
1963 Economist 14 Dec. 1198/3 Oils are available..from..macadamia nuts.
1969 Coast to Coast 1967–8 4 He could hear the familiar morning sounds through that hush,..the sow's demanding squeals, the butcher-birds and magpies in the macadamia-trees.
1976 Observer 27 June 17/1 Firm, fleshy and sensual, the Macadamia nut (accent on the third syllable—Macadaymia) is the perfect nut.
1977 N.Z. Jrnl. Agric. Jan. 24/1 Growing macadamias is more difficult than just picking up the valuable nuts from the ground as they fall.
1988 S. Afr. Panorama Apr. 32/1 There is a huge, world-wide demand for that richly flavoured dessert nut, the macadamia.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2000; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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