Main Entry:

¹chest·nut

Pronunciation:

\ˈches(t)-(ˌ)nət\

Function:

noun

Etymology:

Middle English chasteine, chesten chestnut tree, from Anglo-French chastein, chestain, from Latin castanea, from Greek kastanea

Date:

14th century

1 a: any of a genus (Castanea) of trees or shrubs of the beech family ; especially : an American tree (C. dentata) that was formerly a dominant or codominant member of many deciduous forests of the eastern United States but has now been largely eliminated by the chestnut blight and seldom grows beyond the shrub or sapling stage b: the edible nut of a chestnut c: the wood of a chestnut2: a grayish to reddish brown3: horse chestnut4: a chestnut-colored animal ; specifically : a horse having a body color of any shade of pure or reddish brown with mane, tail, and points of the same or a lighter shade — compare {h,2}bay 1, {h,1}sorrel 15: a callosity on the inner side of the leg of the horse — see horse illustration6 a: an old joke or story b: something (as a musical piece or a saying) repeated to the point of staleness