/pi kahn", -kan", pee"kan/ , n.
1. a tall hickory tree, Carya illinoinensis, of the southern U.S. and Mexico, cultivated for its oval, smooth-shelled, edible nuts: the state tree of Texas.
2. a nut of this tree.
[ 1765-75, Amer.; pacane pakani
paka·n- nut (deriv. of * pake·- crack nuts) ]