Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Any of several deciduous trees of the genus Castanea native to northern temperate regions, having alternate simple toothed leaves, and nuts that are enclosed in a prickly husk.
  • noun The often edible nut of any of these trees.
  • noun The wood of any of these trees.
  • noun Any of several other plants, such as the horse chestnut.
  • noun A moderate to deep reddish brown.
  • noun A reddish-brown horse.
  • noun A small hard callus on the inner surface of a horse's foreleg.
  • noun An old, frequently repeated joke, story, or song.
  • adjective Of a moderate to deep reddish brown.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The fruit of trees of the genus Castanea. See 2.
  • noun The tree Castanea vesca, natural order Cupuliferœ, a native of western Asia, southern Europe, and the United States east of the Mississippi.
  • noun A name given to certain trees or plants of other genera, and to their fruit. See below.
  • noun The color of a chestnut; a reddish-brown color.
  • noun In farriery, the bur or horny wart-like excrescence on the inner side of a horse's leg.
  • noun [In allusion to a stale or worm-eaten chestnut.] An old joke; a trite jest; a stale pun or anecdote; a “Joe Miller.”
  • noun A worn-out phrase or catchword; a phrase or expression serious in form and intent, but which has ceased, through futile repetition, to command interest or respect.
  • Of the color of a chestnut; of a reddish-brown color; castaneous.
  • Also spelled chesnut.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Of or pertaining of a chestnut; of a reddish brown color.
  • noun (Bot.) The edible nut of a forest tree (Castanea vesce) of Europe and America. Commonly two or more of the nuts grow in a prickly bur.
  • noun The tree itself, or its light, coarse-grained timber, used for ornamental work, furniture, etc.
  • noun A bright brown color, like that of the nut.
  • noun The horse chestnut (often so used in England).
  • noun One of the round, or oval, horny plates on the inner sides of the legs of the horse, and allied animals.
  • noun Slang An old joke or story.
  • noun a tree that bears chestnuts.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A tree or shrub of the genus Castanea.
  • noun The nut of this tree or shrub.
  • noun uncountable A dark, reddish-brown colour/color.
  • noun A reddish-brown horse.
  • noun uncountable The wood of a chestnut tree.
  • noun idiomatic (Often "old chestnut") A worn-out meme; a work so often repeated as to have grown tiresome.
  • noun A part of a horse found on the inner leg, similar to a birthmark on a human.
  • adjective Of a deep reddish-brown colour, like that of a chestnut.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun edible nut of any of various chestnut trees of the genus Castanea
  • noun any of several attractive deciduous trees yellow-brown in autumn; yield a hard wood and edible nuts in a prickly bur
  • adjective (of hair or feathers) of a golden brown to reddish brown color
  • noun a small horny callus on the inner surface of a horse's leg
  • noun wood of any of various chestnut trees of the genus Castanea
  • noun a dark golden-brown or reddish-brown horse
  • noun the brown color of chestnuts

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Earlier chesten (from Middle English chesteine, from Old French chastaigne, from Latin castanea, from Greek kastaneā, chestnut tree, from kastana, sweet chestnuts) + nut.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Formerly chesten nut, from Middle English chasteine, from Old French chastaigne, from Latin castanea, from Ancient Greek καστάνεια (kastaneia).

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Examples

  • This is, to repeat the old Wittgenstein chestnut below, like the sunset: It “looks like” the sun is setting, when in reality the earth is turning on its axis.

    A Coda on Free Will 2009

  • The "we're descending into an ice age" chestnut is actually a great demonstration of how well science works.

    Jack Schmitt on Global Warming - NASA Watch 2009

  • I do like chestnuts too, usually eaten with pasta or in chestnut flavour Kit-Kats, which have an almost coffee-like flavour and are well worth hunting down.

    Japanese autumn bus tours 2008

  • “It is an evolution of the old chestnut from the 20th century, if you like Socialism so much why don1t you go and live in Russia!”

    Kill Bill (-y Bragg) Newmania 2007

  • “It is an evolution of the old chestnut from the 20th century, if you like Socialism so much why don1t you go and live in Russia!”

    Archive 2007-04-22 Newmania 2007

  • There's also this chestnut from the post-election spin: If Bush has misjudged the public appetite for an ambitious conservative agenda, he is not the only one.

    05/02/2005 2005

  • National Language - this old chestnut is being revived in certain sectors, with same old pros and cons.

    talking the talk Dean Francis Alfar 2004

  • National Language - this old chestnut is being revived in certain sectors, with same old pros and cons.

    Archive 2004-07-01 Dean Francis Alfar 2004

  • Buildings are clad in English chestnut shingles and the deck, which connects the three classrooms, can be used as an outdoor teaching environment when weather permits.

    Gizmag Emerging Technology Magazine 2009

  • In that case, fungus called chestnut blight brought in from Asia caused the devastation.

    PhysOrg.com - latest science and technology news stories 2009

Comments

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  • See also castaneous.

    September 8, 2008

  • "Since 1818, a particular chestnut tree has been used as the official "herald of the spring" in Geneva. The sautier (secretary of the Parliament of the Canton of Geneva) observes the tree and notes the day of arrival of the first bud. While this event has no practical effect, the sautier issues a formal press release and the local newspaper will usually mention the news.

    As this is one of the world's oldest records of a plant's reaction to climatic conditions, researchers have been interested to note that the first bud appears earlier and earlier in the year. During the first century, many dates were in March or April. In recent years, it has usually been in mid-February and sometimes even earlier. In 2002, the first bud appeared unusually early, on 7 February, and then again on 29 December of the same year. The following year, which was one of the hottest years recorded in Europe, became a year with no bud. In 2008, the first bud also appeared very early, on 19 February."

    - From the Wikipedia article about Geneva, Switzerland.

    July 26, 2010

  • Not chestnut budcreep! Where will phenology lead us next?

    July 26, 2010