filbert

noun

fil·​bert ˈfil-bərt 

1

: either of two Eurasian hazels (Corylus avellana and C. maxima)

2

: the sweet thick-shelled nut of the filbert

broadly : hazelnut

Did you know?

Hazel trees are common in England, and their sweet nuts become ripe in late summer. The feast day of a French saint named Philibert was celebrated during the time that people picked these nuts. In 1066 the Normans conquered England and in their form of French they called the nut of the hazel tree philber, after the saint. Eventually, English borrowed the word as filbert.

Examples of filbert in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

If necessary, second spray of filbert trees for filbertworm. —oregonlive, 1 Aug. 2022

Remove cankered limbs from fruit and nut trees for control of diseases such as apple anthracnose, bacterial canker of stone fruit and Eastern filbert blight. —oregonlive, 1 Feb. 2022

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French philber, from St. Philibert †684 Frankish abbot whose feast day falls in the nutting season

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

filbert

noun

fil·​bert ˈfil-bərt 

1

: either of two European hazels

2

: the sweet thick-shelled nut of a filbert

also : hazelnut

Etymology

Middle English filbert "filbert," from philber, name for the nut in the French language used in England after 1066; named for Saint Philibert, French abbot who has a feast day at the time when the nuts ripen

Word Origin

Hazel trees are common in England, and their sweet nuts become ripe in late summer. The feast day of a French saint named Philibert was celebrated during the time that people picked these nuts. In the form of French spoken in England after the Normans conquered it in 1066, the nut of the hazel tree was called philber, after the saint. English borrowed the word as filbert.