A North American hardwood tree known for its tough, flexible wood and edible nuts.
From Algonquian pokahickory (a drink made from hickory nuts). Early colonists shortened the word, focusing on the tree rather than the beverage.
Hickory wood is so synonymous with toughness that 'tough as hickory' became an American idiom, and Andrew Jackson earned the nickname 'Old Hickory' - the tree's reputation for strength became a metaphor for human resilience.
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