Cashew (kȧ‑sho͞oˈ), n. [F. acajou, for cajou, prob. from Malay kāyu tree; cf. Pg. acaju, cf. Acajou.]
1. (Bot.) A tree (Anacardium occidentale) of the same family which the sumac. It is native in tropical America, but is now naturalized in all tropical countries. Its fruit, a kidney-shaped nut, grows at the extremity of an edible, pear-shaped hypocarp, about three inches long.
[1913 Webster]
2. the cashew nut.
[PJC]
Cashew nut, the large, kidney-shaped fruit of the cashew, which is edible after the caustic oil has been expelled from the shell by roasting the nut.
[1913 Webster]