beech mast

American  

noun

1. the edible nuts of the beech, especially when lying on the ground.

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Etymology

Origin of beech mast

First recorded in 1570–80

Example Sentences

Instead, the folk were salting down beef and fish and pork—particularly pork, from the herds of swine that roamed the woods feeding on the acorns and beech mast.

From Masters of the Guild by Lamprey, L.

Great numbers of swine are in the woods of Indiana, far from all human dwellings, where they grow very fat by the abundance of oak and beech mast.

From Travels in the Interior of North America, Part I, (Being Chapters I-XV of the London Edition, 1843) Early Western Travels, 1748-1846, Volume XXII by Maximilian, Alexander Philipp

Swine formed at this time a most important portion of the live stock, finding plenty of oak and beech mast to eat.

From The New Gresham Encyclopedia. Vol. 1 Part 1 A to Amide by Various

At the North, he will, like a squirrel, lay up for winter a hoard of acorns and beech mast.

From Nature's Serial Story by Roe, Edward Payson

The ground was strewn with acorns and beech mast and horse-chestnuts, quite worth picking up.

From For the School Colours by Brazil, Angela