n. [ OE. almande, almaunde, alemaunde, F. amande, L. amygdala, fr. Gr. 'amygda`lh: cf. Sp. almendra. Cf. Amygdalate. ] 1. The fruit of the almond tree. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The different kinds, as bitter, sweet, thin-shelled, thick-shelled almonds, and Jordan almonds, are the products of different varieties of the one species, Amygdalus communis, a native of the Mediterranean region and western Asia. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The tree that bears the fruit; almond tree. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Anything shaped like an almond. Specifically: (Anat.) One of the tonsils. [ 1913 Webster ]

Almond oil, fixed oil expressed from sweet or bitter almonds. --
Oil of bitter almonds, a poisonous volatile oil obtained from bitter almonds by maceration and distillation; benzoic aldehyde. --
Imitation oil of bitter almonds, nitrobenzene. --
Almond tree (Bot.), the tree bearing the almond. --
Almond willow (Bot.), a willow which has leaves that are of a light green on both sides; almond-leaved willow (Salix amygdalina). Shenstone. [ 1913 Webster ]

[ Prob. a corruption of Almain furnace, i. e., German furnace. See Almain. ] A kind of furnace used in refining, to separate the metal from cinders and other foreign matter. Chambers. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. See Almandine [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. having the shape of an almond, i.e. ellipsoidal with somewhat pointed ends.
Syn. -- amygdaliform, amygdaloid, amygdaloidal. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ OE. aumener, aulmener, OF. almosnier, aumosnier, F. aumônier, fr. OF. almosne, alms, L. eleemosyna. See Alms. ] 1. One who distributes alms, esp. the doles and alms of religious houses, almshouses, etc.; also, one who dispenses alms for another, as the almoner of a prince, bishop, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A social worker in a hospital. [ Chiefly Brit. ] [ PJC ]

3. An official in a hospital whose job it is to calculate how much a patient must pay for treatment. [ Chiefly Brit. ] [ PJC ]

n. The office of an almoner. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Almonries [ OF. aumosnerie, F. aumônerie, fr. OF. aumosnier. See Almoner. ] The place where an almoner resides, or where alms are distributed. [ 1913 Webster ]