nittan.
/ˈnɪtə/, U.S. /ˈnɪdə/ Any of several tropical trees of the genus Parkia (family Mimosaceae ( Leguminosae)), bearing pods which contain edible pulp and seeds, esp. the African species P. filicoidea and P. biglobosa. Also nitta tree.
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the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > edible pods, seeds, leaves, or flowers > [noun] > trees bearing other edible pods, etc.
pacay1604
nitta1799
bunya1843
kamachili1866
Manilla tamarind1866
inga bean1886
jicama1909
1799 M. Park Trav. Interior Districts Afr. xxv. 336 The yellow powder which is found in the pods of the nitta, so called by the natives, a species of mimosa.
1847 Nat. Encycl. I. 264 In the tropical regions of Africa we meet with..the nitta or doura tree.
1866 J. Lindley & T. Moore Treasury Bot. II. 847/2 P[arkia] africana, the African Locust tree (Nitta or Nutta of the negroes), is a tree attaining thirty or forty feet in height.
1962 G. Gorer Africa Dances 116 The village was surrounded by trees which the Wolof call oulh, and Mungo Park - as far as my knowledge goes the writer of easily the most accurate description of West Africa - the Nitta tree.
1981 T. C. Boyle Water Music (1983) i. 65 These are the grazing lands, broken here and there by close strands of wood—karite, kapioka and two-ball nitta, doum palm and acacia.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1799