chestnut

I. 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 chestnut 2. a grayish to reddish brown 3. horse chestnut 4. 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 bay II,1, sorrel I,1 5. a callosity on the inner side of the leg of the horse — see horse illustration 6. a. an old joke or story b. something (as a musical piece or a saying) repeated to the point of staleness II. adjective Date: 1555 1. of the color chestnut 2. of, relating to, or resembling a chestnut