chestnut

[ ches-nuht, -nuh t ]

/ ˈtʃɛsˌnʌt, -nət /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR chestnut ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

any of the several deciduous trees constituting the genus Castanea, of the beech family, having toothed, oblong leaves and bearing edible nuts enclosed in a prickly bur, and including C. dentata (American chestnut), which has been virtually destroyed by the chestnut blight, C. sativa (European chestnut), C. mollissima (Chinese chestnut), and C. crenata (Japanese chestnut).

the edible nut of such a tree.

the wood of any of these trees.

any fruit or tree resembling the chestnut, as the horse chestnut.

reddish brown.

an old or stale joke, anecdote, etc.

the callosity on the inner side of the leg of a horse.

a reddish-brown horse having the mane and tail of the same color.Compare bay⁵(def 2).

Also called liver chestnut. a horse of a solid, dark-brown color.

adjective

being reddish-brown in color.

(of food) containing or made with chestnuts: turkey with chestnut stuffing.

Nearby words

Idioms

pull someone's chestnuts out of the fire, to rescue someone from a difficulty.

Origin of chestnut

1350–1400; 1880–85 for def 6; earlier chesten nut, Middle English chesten, Old English cysten chestnut tree (< Latin castanea < Greek kastanéa) + nut

Related formschest·nut·ty, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for chestnut

Chestnut was last, carried on a yellow chariot through a sea of adoring fans.
How to Stomach a Hot Dog Eating Contest|Robert Silverman|July 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Then I saw him again coming down one of the chestnut alleys of the Cours la Reine.
Read ‘The King in Yellow,’ the ‘True Detective’ Reference That’s the Key to the Show|Robert W. Chambers|February 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Even the way he sets up that chestnut, he makes the joke a part of his own history.
The Texas Drought Seen Firsthand from the Eyes of Ranchers|Malcolm Jones|August 9, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Tinsel, garland, and chestnut shells are the only combustibles on offer.
Twelve Unusual Christmas Reads|Stefan Beck|December 25, 2011|DAILY BEAST

Chestnut downed 62 to prove he was hungrier for the win than the rest of the pack on July 4th.
The Week in Viral Videos|The Daily Beast Video|July 9, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Chestnut is one of the species that produces abundant callus very readily.
Northern Nut Growers Association Report of the Proceedings at the Forty-Second Annual Meeting|Northern Nut Growers Association
Alat, my chestnut, was very cheerful after his long rest, but the steep path soon tamed him.
Through the Land of the Serb|Mary Edith Durham
She gave her consent, however, to his leaving the pail on the porch and then retiring to the chestnut tree.
More Tish|Mary Roberts Rinehart
We mulched with about four inches and some animal got every chestnut out.
Northern Nut Growers Association Report of the Proceedings at the Forty-Second Annual Meeting|Northern Nut Growers Association
The leaves of the chestnut oak and those of the yellow oak resemble the leaves of the chestnut tree.
Woodcraft|Alan Douglas

British Dictionary definitions for chestnut

chestnut

/ (ˈtʃɛsˌnʌt) /

noun

any N temperate fagaceous tree of the genus Castanea, such as C. sativa (sweet or Spanish chestnut), which produce flowers in long catkins and nuts in a prickly burCompare horse chestnut, water chestnut, dwarf chestnut

the edible nut of any of these trees

the hard wood of any of these trees, used in making furniture, etc

a reddish-brown to brown colour
(as adjective)chestnut hair

a horse of a yellow-brown or golden-brown colour

a small horny callus on the inner surface of a horse's leg

informal an old or stale joke

Word Origin for chestnut

C16: from earlier chesten nut: chesten, from Old French chastaigne, from Latin castanea, from Greek kastanea

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for chestnut

chestnut

1560s, from chesten nut (1510s), with superfluous nut (n.) + Middle English chasteine, from Old French chastain (12c., Modern French châtaigne), from Latin castanea "chestnut, chestnut tree," from Greek kastaneia, which the Greeks thought meant either "nut from Castanea" in Pontus, or "nut from Castana" in Thessaly, but probably both places are named for the trees, not the other way around, and the word is borrowed from a language of Asia Minor (cf. Armenian kask "chestnut," kaskeni "chestnut tree"). In reference to the dark reddish-brown color, 1650s. Applied to the horse-chestnut by 1832.

Slang sense of "venerable joke or story" is from 1885, explained 1888 by Joseph Jefferson (see "Lippincott's Monthly Magazine," January 1888) as probably abstracted from the 1816 melodrama "The Broken Sword" by William Dimond where an oft-repeated story involving a chestnut tree figures in an exchange between the characters "Captain Zavior" and "Pablo":

Zav. Let me see--ay! it is exactly six years since that peace being restored to Spain, and my ship paid off, my kind brother offered me a snug hammock in the dwelling of my forefathers. I mounted a mule at Barcelona and trotted away for my native mountains. At the dawn of the fourth day's journey, I entered the wood of Collares, when, suddenly, from the thick boughs of a cork-tree--
Pab. [Jumping up.] A chesnut, Captain, a chesnut!
Zav. Bah, you booby! I say, a cork!
Pab. And I swear, a chesnut. Captain, this is the twenty-seventh time 1 have heard you relate this story, and you invariably said, a chesnut, till now.

Jefferson traced the connection through William Warren, "the veteran comedian of Boston" who often played Pablo in the melodrama.

Idioms and Phrases with chestnut

chestnut

see old chestnut.

chestnut

noun

adjective

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Nearby words

Idioms

Origin of chestnut

Examples from the Web for chestnut

chestnut

noun

Word Origin for chestnut

chestnut

chestnut