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It recently occurred to me that the Spanish nuez can be translated to English as both "walnut" and "pecan." Is the same word really used for both types of nuts? How would you specify which nut you're talking about when the difference is important (say, in a recipe)?

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The generic term for nuts is frutos secos at least in Spain, then walnut is nuez and pecan is pacana as you have been told. – DeStrangis Jan 22 at 10:27

3 Answers

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At least in Colombia one usually would say nuez, generically, if the context doesn't require the specific kind of nut; in the case of a recipe (or in any other context in which the difference matters) we, of course, have (and use) different names:

  • Pacana (pecan):

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  • Nuez (walnut):

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  • Nuez del Brasil (Brazil nut):

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  • Avellana (hazelnut):

enter image description here

And perhaps more that I cannot remember right now.

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I believe the proper/full name for a walnut is "nuez de nogal". – Flimzy♦ Sep 25 '12 at 3:48
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@Flimzy the proper name changes; in some regions of Spain it is called nuez de Castilla, for example. – Gonzalo Medina Sep 25 '12 at 13:10
up vote 1 down vote

@jrdioko One must differentiate between the general case and the particular cases. @Gonzalo Medina has already pointed you several particular cases, but I'd like to address the general case.

The English word "nut" refers to all oily seeds produced by some wood trees and palm trees. It is the same for the Spanish word "nuez". When you refer to a particular case, you qualify the word making it narrower in meaning. In some cases you have a different word to refer to that particular case, e.g., "hazelnut/avellana". But your original premise is incorrect. "Nuez" does not mean "walnut" nor "pecan" nor it is a synonym of both either.

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Interesting, I'd asked because WordReference lists the translation of "nut" as fruto seco and nuez as meaning either "walnut" or "pecan." – jrdioko Sep 24 '12 at 16:37
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@jrdioko Never believe anything you read in a random site on the Internet :-). WordReference is particularly bad when it comes to anything different to the English language in my experience. BTW, «fruto seco» is the educated term in peninsular Spanish; don't expect a contemporaneous native speaker from Spain to use that term naturally. – vorbote Sep 25 '12 at 16:50
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Well to be fair it's not a "random site on the Internet," it's an online version of the Concise Oxford Spanish Dictionary by Oxford University Press. But still, thanks for the clarification :) – jrdioko Sep 25 '12 at 19:56
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@jrdioko I am familiar with the site and the history of that particular dictionary. To make things short, it started as a great project for 7 years, then it was sold off to OUP where all the original linguists and lexicographers were fired and "reshaped by the staff to fit the editorial policy", read butchered, and made into a flop. If you really want to own a great English-Spanish dictionary, I can't praise enough the Appleton-Cuyas'; it is bit long in the tooth and probably out-of-print, but I always find myself coming back to my old copy. – vorbote Sep 29 '12 at 14:18
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@jrdioko Here is the story: elmalpensante.com/… BTW, I personally have always found the definitions too off-the-mark. The emphasis on localisms ans rejection of the general consensus makes it almost useless for translation work; they just didn't think using the RAE's as a guideline was necessary. – vorbote Oct 5 '12 at 11:50
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up vote 4 down vote

In Mexico

  • nuez China is pecan
  • nuez Castillo is walnut
  • Nuez India is cashew
  • nuez Moscada is nutmeg

Hope it helps.

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