chestnut
(redirected from pull chestnuts out of the fire)Also found in: Thesaurus, Idioms, Encyclopedia.
American chestnut
Castanea dentata
chest·nut
(chĕs′nŭt′, -nət)n.
1.
a. 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.
b. The often edible nut of any of these trees.
c. The wood of any of these trees.
2. Any of several other plants, such as the horse chestnut.
3. A moderate to deep reddish brown.
4. A reddish-brown horse.
5. A small hard callus on the inner surface of a horse's foreleg.
6. An old, frequently repeated joke, story, or song.
adj.
Of a moderate to deep reddish brown.
[Earlier chesten (from Middle English chesteine, from Old French chastaigne, from Latin castanea, from Greek kastaneā, chestnut tree, from kastana, chestnuts; akin to Armenian kask, chestnut, both Greek and Armenian probably being of substrate origin) + nut. Noun, sense 6, perhaps in reference to unpalatability of stale chestnuts, or to the play The Broken Sword (1816) by British playwright William Dimond (c.1784-1837?), in which one character begins to tell an anecdote involving a cork oak, and another interrupts him by exclaiming Chestnut! and says that in twenty-six previous tellings of the same anecdote, the tree had been a chestnut.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
chestnut
(ˈtʃɛsˌnʌt)n
1. (Plants) any N temperate fagaceous tree of the genus Castanea, such as C. sativa (sweet or Spanish chestnut), which produce flowers in long catkins and nuts in a prickly bur. Compare horse chestnut, water chestnut, dwarf chestnut
2. (Cookery) the edible nut of any of these trees
3. (Forestry) the hard wood of any of these trees, used in making furniture, etc
4. (Colours)
a. a reddish-brown to brown colour
b. (as adjective): chestnut hair.
5. (Horse Training, Riding & Manège) a horse of a yellow-brown or golden-brown colour
6. (Zoology) a small horny callus on the inner surface of a horse's leg
7. informal an old or stale joke
[C16: from earlier chesten nut: chesten, from Old French chastaigne, from Latin castanea, from Greek kastanea]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
chest•nut
(ˈtʃɛsˌnʌt, -nət)n.
1. any of several tall trees of the genus Castanea, of the beech family, bearing edible nuts enclosed in a prickly bur, as C. sativa, of Europe, and C.dentata, an American tree virtually destroyed by chestnut blight.
2. the edible nut of such a tree.
3. the wood of any of these trees.
4. any fruit or tree resembling the chestnut, as the horse chestnut.
5. reddish brown.
6. a stale joke, anecdote, etc.
7. the callosity on the inner side of a horse's leg.
8. a horse having a reddish brown or brown body with mane and tail of the same or a lighter color.
adj. 9. reddish brown.
[1350–1400; earlier chesten nut, Middle English chesten, Old English cysten chestnut tree (< Latin castanea < Greek kastanéa) + nut]
chest′nut`ty, adj.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new thesaurus
| Noun | 1. |  chestnut - wood of any of various chestnut trees of the genus Castaneachestnut tree, chestnut - any of several attractive deciduous trees yellow-brown in autumn; yield a hard wood and edible nuts in a prickly bur wood - the hard fibrous lignified substance under the bark of trees |
| 2. |  chestnut - any of several attractive deciduous trees yellow-brown in autumn; yield a hard wood and edible nuts in a prickly burchestnut - edible nut of any of various chestnut trees of the genus Castanea Castanea, genus Castanea - chestnuts; chinkapins chestnut - wood of any of various chestnut trees of the genus Castanea American chestnut, American sweet chestnut, Castanea dentata - large tree found from Maine to Alabama Castanea sativa, European chestnut, Spanish chestnut, sweet chestnut - wild or cultivated throughout southern Europe, northwestern Africa and southwestern Asia Castanea mollissima, Chinese chestnut - a small tree with small sweet nuts; wild or naturalized in Korea and China Castanea crenata, Japanese chestnut - a spreading tree of Japan that has a short trunk Allegheny chinkapin, Castanea pumila, dwarf chestnut, eastern chinquapin, chinquapin - shrubby chestnut tree of southeastern United States having small edible nuts Castanea ozarkensis, chinquapin, Ozark chinkapin, Ozark chinquapin - shrubby tree closely related to the Allegheny chinkapin but with larger leaves; southern midwestern United States tree - a tall perennial woody plant having a main trunk and branches forming a distinct elevated crown; includes both gymnosperms and angiosperms | |
| 3. | chestnut - edible nut of any of various chestnut trees of the genus Castanea edible nut - a hard-shelled seed consisting of an edible kernel or meat enclosed in a woody or leathery shell chestnut tree, chestnut - any of several attractive deciduous trees yellow-brown in autumn; yield a hard wood and edible nuts in a prickly bur | |
| 4. | chestnut - the brown color of chestnuts | |
| 5. | chestnut - a small horny callus on the inner surface of a horse's leg callus - bony tissue formed during the healing of a fractured bone | |
| 6. | chestnut - a dark golden-brown or reddish-brown horse Equus caballus, horse - solid-hoofed herbivorous quadruped domesticated since prehistoric times | |
| Adj. | 1. | chestnut - (of hair or feathers) of a golden brown to reddish brown color; "a chestnut horse"; "chestnut hair" chromatic - being or having or characterized by hue |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations
كَسْتَناءكَسْتَنائي اللوننُكْتَةٌ قَديمَهحِصانٌ كَسْتَنائي اللوْن
kaštankaštanovéotřepaný vtippříběhhnědák
kastanjekastanjebrungammel traver
kastanjaraudikkorautias
kesten
gesztenyepejsárgaszakállas vicc
gömul lummajarpur hesturkastaníubrúnn, rauîbrúnnkastaníuhneta
クリ
밤
castaneaspadix
bėriskaštonaskaštoninisnuvalkiotas anekdotas
bērs zirgskastaņbrūnskastanisnodrāzts joks/anekdote
gaštanhnedákstarý vtip
kostanj
kastanj
ลูกเกาลัด
hạt dẻ
chestnut
[ˈtʃesnʌt]A. N
B. ADJ (also chestnut brown) [hair] → (de color) castaño inv
C. CPD chestnut tree N → castaño m
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
chestnut
[ˈtʃɛsnʌt] n
(edible) → marron m
We have turkey with chestnuts → Nous mangeons de la dinde aux marrons.
an old chestnut (= idea) → une vieille rengaine (= joke) → une plaisanterie usée
We have turkey with chestnuts → Nous mangeons de la dinde aux marrons.
an old chestnut (= idea) → une vieille rengaine (= joke) → une plaisanterie usée
(also chestnut tree) → châtaignier m
(= colour) → châtain m
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
chestnut
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
chestnut
[ˈtʃɛsˌnʌt]2. adj (hair) → castano/a; (horse) → sauro/a
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
chestnut
(ˈtʃesnat)1. a reddish-brown nut (one type being edible).
2. a reddish-brown horse.
3. a boring old joke or story.
adjective of the colour of ripe chestnuts. chestnut hair.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
chestnut
→ كَسْتَناء kaštan kastanje Kastanie κάστανο castaña, castaño kastanja marronnier kesten castagno クリ 밤 kastanje kastanje kasztan castanha каштан kastanj ลูกเกาลัด kestane hạt dẻ 栗子Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009