from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Cashew \Ca*shew"\ (k[.a]*sh[=oo]"), n. [F. acajou, for cajou,
prob. from Malay k[=a]yu 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]