chestnut

chestnut

English

chestnuts

Etymology

Formerly chesten nut, from Middle English chesten, Middle English chesteyne, chasteine, from Old English ċisten and reinforced by Old French chastaigne, both from Latin castānea, from Ancient Greek καστάνεια (kastáneia). Compare castanet.

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /ˈt͡ʃɛs.nʌt/, /ˈt͡ʃɛst.nʌt/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛsnʌt, -ɛstnʌt

Noun

chestnut (countable and uncountable, plural chestnuts)

1. A tree or shrub of the genus Castanea.

   Synonym: chestnut tree

2. A nut of this tree or shrub.
3. (uncountable) A dark, reddish-brown colour, as seen on the fruit of the chestnut tree.

   chestnut:  

4. A reddish-brown horse.
   • 1871, Baily's Magazine of Sports & Pastimes (volume 20, page 308)

     Lord Carington […] led the way with his chestnuts […]

   • 1877, George Nevile, Horses and Riding, page 105:

     […] browns are the soberest, bays are the worst tempered, and chestnuts are the most foolish.

5. (uncountable) The wood of a chestnut tree.
6. (figurative) An old joke; a worn-out meme, phrase, ploy, etc. so often repeated as to have grown tiresome or ineffective (often in the phrase "old chestnut").
   • 1997 May 10, Larry Flick, “Singles”, in Billboard, ISSN 0006-2510, page 62:

     Yep, this is a dance-leaning cover of the Matthew Wilder '80s pop chestnut. It has already saturated radio airwaves throughout Europe, with a number of programmers here already giving it positive feedback.

7. A round or oval horny plate found on the inner side of the leg of a horse or other animal, similar to a birthmark on a human.

   Synonym: night eye

8. (UK) The horse-chestnut.

Derived terms

Terms derived from chestnut (noun)

• American chestnut (Castanea dentata)
• Australian chestnut (Castanospermum australe)
• Cape chestnut (Calodendrum capense)
• chestnut blight, chestnut canker, chestnut-bark disease
• chestnut clearwing moth (Coptotriche perplexa)
• chestnut coal
• chestnut munia (Lonchura atricapilla)
• chestnut rail (Eulabeornis castaneoventris)
• chestnut teal (Anas castanea)
• chestnut-backed antshrike (Thamnophilus palliatus)
• chestnut-backed chickadee (Poecile rufescens)
• chestnut-bellied tit (Sittiparus castaneoventris)
• chestnut-breasted mannikin (Lonchura castaneothorax)
• chestnut-eared bunting (Emberiza fucata)
• chestnut-flanked sparrowhawk (Accipiter castanilius)
• Chestnut Hill
• chestnut oak (Quercus montana)
• chestnut tree (Castanea spp.)
• chestnutty
• China chestnut (Sterculia monosperma)
• Chinese water chestnut (Eleocharis dulcis)
• dwarf chestnut (Castanea pumila)
• earth chestnut (Bunium bulbocastanum, Conopodium majus, etc.)
• European chestnut (Castanea sativa)
• horse chestnut (Aesculus spp.)
• Japanese chestnut (Castanea crenata)
• liver chestnut
• Malabar chestnut (Pachira aquatica)
• Moreton Bay chestnut (Castanospermum australe)
• oak chestnut (Castanopsis spp.)
• old chestnut
• pull someone's chestnuts out of the fire
• red chestnut (Taeniocampa rubricosa)
• rose chestnut (Mesua ferrea)
• sea chestnut (Echinoidea spp.)
• Spanish chestnut (Castanea sativa)
• swamp chestnut oak (Quercus michauxii)
• sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa)
• Tahitian chestnut (Inocarpus fagifer)
• water chestnut (Eleocharis dulcis etc.)
• yellow chestnut oak (Quercus muhlenbergii)

Descendants

• → Gujarati: ચેસ્ટનટ (cesṭanaṭ)

Translations

chestnut tree — see chestnut tree

nut of the chestnut tree

Albanian: gështenjë (sq) f Arabic: كَسْتَنَاء‎ f (kastanāʾ) Egyptian Arabic: ابو فروة‎ m (abō farwa) Hijazi Arabic: أبو فَرْوَة‎ m (ʾabu farwa), كستنا‎ f (kastana) Armenian: շագանակ (hy) (šaganak) Middle Armenian: շահպալութ (šahpalutʿ) Asturian: castaña (ast) f Azerbaijani: şabalıd (az), kəstanə Belarusian: кашта́н m (kaštán) Bengali: বাদামী (bn) (badamī) Bulgarian: ке́стен (bg) m (késten) Catalan: castanya (ca) f Cherokee: ᏘᎵ (tili) Chinese: Cantonese: 栗子 (leot6 zi2) Mandarin: 板栗 (zh) (bǎnlì), 栗子 (zh) (lìzi) Cornish: kestenen f Czech: kaštan (cs) m Danish: kastanje c Dutch: kastanje (nl) f, tamme kastanje f Esperanto: kaŝtano (eo) Estonian: kastan Faroese: kastanja f Finnish: kastanja (fi) French: châtaigne (fr) f, marron (fr) m Friulian: cjastine f Galician: castaña (gl) f, bullote (gl) m, baloca f Georgian: წაბლი (c̣abli) German: Kastanie (de) f, Esskastanie f Greek: κάστανο (el) n (kástano) Ancient: κάστανον n (kástanon) Greenlandic: please add this translation if you can Gujarati: ચેસ્ટનટ (cesṭanaṭ) Hawaiian: pelakano, pelane Hebrew: ערמון‎ (he) m (armon) Hungarian: gesztenye (hu) Icelandic: kastaníuhneta f, kastanía (is) f Ido: kastano (io) Irish: please add this translation if you can Italian: castagna (it) f Japanese: 栗 (ja) (kuri) Korean: 밤 (ko) (bam) Kurdish: Northern Kurdish: kestane (ku) f, berû (ku) f Lao: ໝາກກໍ່ໜາມ (māk kǭ nām) Latgalian: kaštans Latin: castanea f Latvian: kastanis Lithuanian: kaštainis m, kaštonas m Luxembourgish: Käscht f Macedonian: ко́стен m (kósten) Maltese: qastan Manx: castan m, cro Spaainagh m, castan Spaainagh m Maori: katania ratina Navajo: neeshchʼííłchííʼ Northern Sami: please add this translation if you can Norwegian: Bokmål: kastanje m Nynorsk: kastanje m Occitan: castanha (oc) f Plautdietsch: Kostaunt f Polish: kasztan (pl) m Portuguese: castanha (pt) f Romanian: castană (ro) Russian: кашта́н (ru) m (kaštán) Scottish Gaelic: castan m Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: кестен m Roman: kesten (sh) m Slovak: gaštan (sk) m Slovene: kostanj (sl) m Spanish: castaña (es) f Swahili: aramoni Swedish: kastanj (sv) c Tagalog: kastanyas Thai: เกาลัด (th) (gao-lát) Turkish: kestane (tr) Ukrainian: кашта́н m (kaštán) Vietnamese: hạt dẻ Volapük: kätan, kätuk Walloon: cascagne (wa) f Welsh: cneuen gastan f

reddish-brown colour

Armenian: շագանակագույն (hy) (šaganakaguyn) Asturian: marrón m Bulgarian: кестеняв (kestenjav) Catalan: castany (ca) m, marró (ca) m Chinese: Mandarin: 栗色 (zh) (lìsè) Czech: kaštanově hnědá f Danish: kastanjebrun Dutch: kastanjebruin (nl) n Finnish: kastanjanruskea (fi), pähkinänruskea French: marron (fr) m, châtain (fr) m Galician: castaño (gl) m, marrón (gl) m, pardo (gl) m, bis (gl) m, brun (gl) m, fouveiro m, teixo (gl) m Georgian: წაბლისფერი (c̣ablisperi) German: Kastanienbraun n Greek: καστανό (el) n (kastanó) Irish: donnrua m Italian: castano (it) f Japanese: 栗色 (kuriiro) Latin: spādīx Macedonian: костенлива f (kostenliva) Maori: pākā Mongolian: Norwegian: kastanje Portuguese: castanho (pt) m Russian: кашта́новый (ru) m (kaštánovyj) (hair color) Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: кестењаста f Roman: kestenjasta (sh) f Spanish: castaño (es) m, marrón (es) m Swedish: kastanjebrunt, kastanj (sv) Turkish: kestane (tr)

reddish-brown horse

Bulgarian: дорест кон (dorest kon) Finnish: raudikko, rautias (fi) German: Fuchs (de) m Hungarian: pej (hu) Italian: castano (it) f Lithuanian: kaštonas m, kaštanas m Russian: гнедо́й (ru) m (gnedój), гнеда́я ло́шадь f (gnedája lóšadʹ), гнедо́й конь m (gnedój konʹ) Swedish: fux (sv)

wood of a chestnut tree

Bulgarian: ке́стен (bg) m (késten) Finnish: kastanja (fi), kastanjapuu (fi) French: châtaigner (fr) m, marronnier (fr) m Galician: castiñeiro (gl) m, castaño (gl) m German: Kastanie (de) f Italian: castagneto (it) m Japanese: クリ材 (kurizai) Macedonian: ко́стен m (kósten) Russian: кашта́н (ru) m (kaštán) Swedish: kastanj (sv) c Turkish: kestane (tr)

Adjective

chestnut (not comparable)

1. Of a deep reddish-brown colour, like that of a chestnut.

Translations

of a deep reddish-brown colour

Asturian: castañu, marrón Bulgarian: кестеняв (kestenjav) Catalan: castany (ca), marró (ca) Danish: kastanjebrun Dutch: kastanjebruin (nl), kastanjebruine (nl) Finnish: punaruskea (fi), rautias (fi), kastanjanruskea (fi) French: marron (fr), châtain (fr) Galician: castaño (gl), marrón (gl) German: kastanienbraun (de) Greek: καστανός (el) (kastanós) Ido: kastanea (io) Irish: donnrua Italian: castano (it) (of hair) Japanese: 栗毛 Latin: spādix Lithuanian: kaštoninis Macedonian: костенлив (kostenliv) Portuguese: castanho (pt), marrom (pt) Romanian: roib (ro) Russian: кашта́новый (ru) (kaštánovyj) (hair color) Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: кестењаст Roman: kestenjast (sh) Spanish: castaño (es), marrón (es)

Related terms

• castanet

See also

• black bean
• buckeye
• caltrop
• chinquapin
• chinquapin oak
• conker
• maroon
• water caltrop
• Appendix:Colors

Further reading

• chestnut on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• Chesnutt