n.
- a glossy hard brown nut which develops within a bristly case and can be roasted and eaten.
-
(also chestnut tree, sweet chestnut, or Spanish chestnut)
the large tree that produces chestnuts.
[Castanea sativa.]
▸used in names of similar nuts, and trees and plants that produce them, e.g. horse chestnut, water chestnut.
- a deep reddish-brown colour.
- a horse of a reddish-brown or yellowish-brown colour.
- a small horny patch on the inside of a horse's leg.
Phrase
- an old chestnut
a joke, story, or subject that has become uninteresting through constant repetition.
Etymology
C16: from OE chesten (from OFr. chastaine, via L. from Gk kastanea) + nut.