- Castanea vesce
- Chestnut Chest"nut, n. [For chesten-nut; OE. chestein,
chesten, chastein, chestnut, fr. AS. cisten in cistenbe['a]m
chestnut tree, influenced by OF. chastaigne, F. ch[^a]taigne,
both the AS. and the F. words coming from L. castanea a
chestnut, Gr. ?, fr. ? a city of Pontus, where chestnut trees
grew in abundance, and whence they were introduced into
Europe. Cf. {Castanets}.]
1. (Bot.) The edible nut of a forest tree ({Castanea vesce})
of Europe and America. Commonly two or more of the nuts
grow in a prickly bur.
[1913 Webster]
2. The tree itself, or its light, coarse-grained timber, used for ornamental work, furniture, etc. [1913 Webster]
3. A bright brown color, like that of the nut. [1913 Webster]
4. The horse chestnut (often so used in England). [1913 Webster]
5. One of the round, or oval, horny plates on the inner sides of the legs of the horse, and allied animals. [1913 Webster]
6. An old joke or story. [Slang] [1913 Webster]
{Chestnut tree}, a tree that bears chestnuts. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
