wingnut

English

Wikipedia

Wingnuts: nuts with wing-like projections.

Fruit of the Chinese wingnut, Pterocarya stenoptera.

Etymology

wing +‎ nut.

Noun

wingnut (plural wingnuts)

1. A nut having wing-like projections so that it can be turned easily by hand
2. A deciduous tree of the genus Pterocarya native to Asia
3. (slang) a derogatory term for anyone perceived as odd, eccentric, and/or extreme
   1. often used among North American itinerant and street populations for a mentally ill homeless person
   2. someone with crazy, extreme political views, usually right-wing as the left-wing equivalents are called moonbats
4. (slang, rural US) Air Force personnel in towns that host a USAF installation

Synonyms

• (nut with wings): wing nut, thumbnut
• (tree of the genus Pterocarya): pterocarya
• (odd or eccentric person): nut case, crank, weirdo
• (person of extreme political beliefs): extremist, radical; winger

Derived terms

• wingnuttery
• wingnutty

Translations

nut with winglike projections

• Finnish: siipimutteri (fi)

• German: Flügelmutter (de) f
• Russian: бара́шек (ru) (barášek) m

genus Pterocarya (botany)

• Finnish: siipipähkinä (fi)

• German: Flügelnuss (de) f
• Russian: лапи́на (ru) (lapína) f, крылоорешник (ru) (krylooréšnik) m, птерока́рия (ru) (pterokárija) f

odd, eccentric, and/or extreme person

• Finnish: kummajainen (fi), hörhö (fi)
• Russian: ебанат (ru) (yebanat) m, фрик (ru) (frik) m, чудак (ru) (chudak) m