| Hickory (n.) An American tree of the genus Carya, of which there are several species. The shagbark is the C. alba, and has a very rough bark; it affords the hickory nut of the markets. The pignut, or brown hickory, is the C. glabra. The swamp hickory is C. amara, having a nut whose shell is very thin and the kernel bitter. Thesaurus Entries baste, bastinado, bat, baton, beat, belabor, belt, billy, billy club, birch, blackjack, bludgeon, buffet, cane, club, clue, cosh, cowhide, cue, cut, drub, ferule, flagellate, flail, flog, fustigate, give a whipping, give the stick, hickory, horsewhip, indication, inkling, intimation, knobkerrie, knout, lace, lash, lay on, mace, nightstick, notion, paddle, pistol-whip, pommel, pummel, quarterstaff, rattan, rawhide, rod, sandbag, scourge, shillelagh, smite, spank, spontoon, strap, stripe, suggestion, swinge, switch, telltale, thrash, thump, trounce, truncheon, wallop, war club, whale, whip, whop, wind |