buckeye

American  

[buhk-ahy] / ˈbʌkˌaɪ /

noun

plural

buckeyes

1. any of various trees or shrubs of the genus Aesculus, as A. glabra Ohio buckeye, having palmate leaves, gray, scaly bark, and bell-shaped greenish-yellow flowers in upright clusters: the state tree of Ohio.

2. the brown nut of any of these trees.

3. (initial capital letter) a native or inhabitant of Ohio (used as a nickname).

4. a butterfly, Precis lavinia, having dark-brown wings with purple or red eyespots.

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buckeye British  

/ ˈbʌkˌaɪ /

noun

1. any of several North American trees of the genus Aesculus , esp A. glabra (Ohio buckeye), having erect clusters of white or red flowers and prickly fruits: family Hippocastanaceae See also horse chestnut

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Etymology

Origin of buckeye

An first recorded in 1755–65; buck ¹ “stag” + eye, originally used to designate buckeye def. 1, in reference to the look of the seed

Example Sentences

Sure, there was a California buckeye I adored at Descanso Gardens, but any place you had to pay to see a tree was out.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 29, 2024

“Look at that caterpillar,” Andrew J. Brand said one afternoon as we passed a hummocky old bottlebrush buckeye shrub in my garden.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 11, 2022

“How about ‘Dwayne Haskins, son, husband, buckeye brother, friend, beloved teammate has passed away,’” former Ohio State quarterback Cardale Jones wrote on Twitter.

From Washington Post • Apr. 9, 2022

As Doug Tallamy, founder of the Homegrown National Park, writes in his book, Nature's Best Hope, plantains provide food for the hitched arches moth, buckeye butterflies, and the giant leopard moth.

From Salon • Mar. 11, 2022

Every fifty yards there was another card sticking on a bush, or hanging from the branches of a madrone, or tacked to the trunk of a buckeye, and all of them said, “Welcome Home.”

From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck