Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A fan-leaved palm (Lodoicea maldivica) native to the Seychelles, having an extremely large seed enclosed in a hard shell resembling a pair of coconuts.
  • noun The seed of this plant.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Same as double cocoanut (which see, under cocoanut).

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A tall palm tree, Lodicea maldivica, found in the Seychelles.
  • noun The woody nut of such a tree.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[French : coco, coconut + de, of + mer, sea.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

French coco de mer, literally ‘nut of the sea’, because it was originally known only from its nuts found floating in the water.

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Examples

  • Prior to the discovery of Praslin, the alluring shell was periodically found floating in the ocean like a wet dream, leading sailors to speculate that it grew underwater hence the name coco-de-mer, or coconut of the sea.

    The Fruit Hunters Adam Leith Gollner 2008

  • Prior to the discovery of Praslin, the alluring shell was periodically found floating in the ocean like a wet dream, leading sailors to speculate that it grew underwater hence the name coco-de-mer, or coconut of the sea.

    The Fruit Hunters Adam Leith Gollner 2008

  • Prior to the discovery of Praslin, the alluring shell was periodically found floating in the ocean like a wet dream, leading sailors to speculate that it grew underwater hence the name coco-de-mer, or coconut of the sea.

    The Fruit Hunters Adam Leith Gollner 2008

  • This fruit, worshipped by a cult, grows only in the Seychelles, where it is called the coco-de-mer.

    The Fruit Hunters Adam Leith Gollner 2008

  • This fruit, worshipped by a cult, grows only in the Seychelles, where it is called the coco-de-mer.

    The Fruit Hunters Adam Leith Gollner 2008

  • This fruit, worshipped by a cult, grows only in the Seychelles, where it is called the coco-de-mer.

    The Fruit Hunters Adam Leith Gollner 2008

  • Savage and Ashton have studied the population structure of the coco-de-mer palm (1983) and the impact of tourism (1991).

    Vallée de Mai Nature Reserve, Seychelles 2008

  • There are considerable difficulties in effectively patrolling the area, and poaching of coco-de-mer nuts is a serious problem that might affect its future regeneration.

    Vallée de Mai Nature Reserve, Seychelles 2008

  • Collection of coco-de-mer nuts is controlled by law; their commercialization is a government monopoly.

    Vallée de Mai Nature Reserve, Seychelles 2008

  • Tourism is affecting the stand structure of the coco-de-mer.

    Vallée de Mai Nature Reserve, Seychelles 2008

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