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.
   • 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. (figuratively) 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)
• chestnut blight
• Chestnut Hill
• chestnut oak (Quercus montana)
• chestnut tree (Castanea spp.)
• dwarf chestnut (Castanea pumila)
• horse chestnut (Aesculus spp.)

• Moreton Bay chestnut (Castanospermum australe)
• pull someone's chestnuts out of the fire
• Spanish chestnut (Castanea sativa)
• sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa)
• water chestnut (Eleocharis dulcis etc.)

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 (badami)
• 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)
• 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