[a. F. bonduc, a. Arab. bunduq, now meaning ‘hazel-nut,’ but formerly a foreign nut of some kind; prob. from Persian: OPers. had pendak, fendak (mod.Pers. finduq, funduq, the latter also Arab.), perh. = Skr. piṇḍaka, dim. of piṇḍa ‘ball, lump’ (J. Platts).] A tropical leguminous shrub of two species (Guilandina Bonduc and G. Bonducella) bearing respectively yellow and lead-colored seeds, hard and beautifully polished, also called Nicker-nuts.
1696. Ray, Philos. Lett. (1718), 292. I have received … the Bean called the Ash Coloured Nickar or Bonduch.
1838. Econ. Vegetation, 79. The bonduc, or nicker-tree.
1866. Treas. Bot., 556. The seeds are very hard and beautifully polished, and are called Nicker nuts or Bonduc nuts.
