Mast (botany)

Mast is the "fruit of forest trees like acorns and other nuts". It is also defined as "the fruit of trees such as beech, and other forms of Fagaceae". Alternatively, it can also refer to "a heap of nuts". The term "mast" comes from the old English word "mæst", meaning the nuts of forest trees that have accumulated on the ground, especially those used as food for fattening domestic pigs.