chinquapin

noun

chin·​qua·​pin ˈchiŋ-ki-ˌpin How to pronounce chinquapin (audio)
variants or chinkapin
1
: the edible nut of a chinquapin
2
: any of several trees (genera Castanea and Castanopsis)
especially : a dwarf chestnut (Castanea pumila) of the U.S.

Examples of chinquapin in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Rare plants, including small Ozark chinquapin trees, are found here. Flip Putthoff, Arkansas Online, 8 Mar. 2022 The fishing for bass, bluegills and redear sunfish — also known as the chinquapin in Cajun country — was a bit slow in the wake of recent deluges that raised the water in the miles of canals a foot or so. John Goodspeed, San Antonio Express-News, 24 June 2021 The strongest chinquapins will be chosen for propagation. Robert Langellier, National Geographic, 24 June 2019 Most of the trees planted were different types of native oak, including swamp white, burr, red and chinquapin. Frank Vaisvilas, Daily Southtown, 7 June 2019 Fruit and leaf fossils from the site, called Laguna del Hunco, belong to a still-living genus of trees called Castanopsis, or chinquapin, that today is found largely in the mountain rainforests of Southeast Asia. Peter Wilf, National Geographic, 6 June 2019

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'chinquapin.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

probably modification of Virginia Algonquian chechinquamin chinquapin nut

First Known Use

1612, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of chinquapin was in 1612

Dictionary Entries Near chinquapin

Cite this Entry

“Chinquapin.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chinquapin. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

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