chinquapin

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Jump to navigation Jump to search

English[edit]

English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Like its cognate / alternative form chinkapin, chinquapin is an alteration of chechinquamin / chincomen (the form found in early records), from an Algonquian language (sometimes said specifically to be from Powhatan). The final element is *mini (berry, fruit). Hewitt suggested that the first element was a word meaning "large, great" cognate to xinkw- (big, large, great).[1]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /ˈt͡ʃɪnkəpɪn/
  • (file)

Noun[edit]

chinquapin (plural chinquapins)

  1. Certain trees in the chestnut genus Castanea:
    1. Allegheny chinkapin (Castanea pumila)
    2. Ozark chinkapin (Castanea ozarkensis)
    3. Chinese chinkapin (Castanea henryi)
  2. Any of the trees in the genus Castanopsis.
  3. Any of the trees and shrubs in the genus Chrysolepis.
  4. A chinkapin oak (Quercus muehlenbergii), a species of oak whose leaves resemble those of chestnut-genus chinquapins.
  5. A water chinquapin, the water plant Nelumbo lutea, American lotus.
  6. The redear sunfish (Lepomis microlophus).

Derived terms[edit]

Translations[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Bulletin 30 of the Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico: "Such forms as chincomen and chechinquamin, found in early writings, make plausible the supposition that a p was later substituted for an m in the last syllable of the word, which would then represent the widespread Algonquian radical min, 'fruit', 'seed'. The first component [...], according to Hewitt, is probably cognate with the Delaware chinqua, 'large', 'great'.