English

Noun

noyau ‎(plural noyaus)

1. A French liqueur made at Poissy in north central France from brandy and flavoured with almonds and the pits of apricots since the early nineteenth century.
2. (ethology) A social structure where individual animals live alone, but each male's territory overlaps with those of several females.
   • 1966 August 26, Richard Ardrey, "Strongest Bond of All - The Space We Own" in LIFE, page 58:

     Borders are violated by hungering males and famished females, and the ordered animosities of the noyau give way to a saturnalia of sexual adventure.

   • 1999, Ronald M. Nowak, Walker's Primates of the World, JHU Press (ISBN 9780801862519), page 27

     The orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) also exhibits the noyau system and appears to be the only diurnal primate with a largely solitary lifestyle.

   • 2000, Sergio M. Pellis & Andrew N. Iwaniuk, "Adult-Adult Play in Primates: Comparative Analyses of Its Origin, Distribution and Evolution", Ethology 106, page 1089:

     This "noyau" pattern is found among various nocturnal strepsirrhines.

References

• http://www.noyaudepoissy.com/pages/histoire.htm

French

Etymology

From Late Latin nucālis, from Latin nux.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /nwajo/

Noun

noyau m ‎(plural noyaux)

1. stone (of a fruit)
2. (geology) core
3. (biology, physics) nucleus
4. (computing) kernel
5. group (of artists etc.); cell (of terrorists etc.)

Derived terms

• antinoyau
• noyautage
• noyauter

Related terms

• noix