I. ˈches(ˌ)nət, usu -əd.+V noun
( -s )
Etymology: earlier chesten nut, from Middle English chesten, chesteine, chasteine, from Middle French chastaigne, from Latin castanea, from Greek kastanea, kastanon
1.
a. : the sweet edible nut produced by any shrub or tree of the genus Castanea
b. : any plant bearing this nut:
(1) : a European tree ( C. sativa )
(2) : a closely related American tree ( C. dentata ) — see japanese chestnut
c. : the light coarse-grained wood of this tree
d. : any of numerous trees having edible nuts: as
(1) : cape chestnut
(2) : moreton bay chestnut — usually used with an attributive modifier
2.
a. : a color like or close to that of a chestnut
b. : a grayish brown that is slightly redder than coconut and redder and slightly darker than new cocoa — called also brown bay, brownstone ; compare chestnut brown
3. : horse , chestnut 1
4. : an animal of a chestnut color ; 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; see sorrel I 1a
5. : one of the small round or oval horny callosities on the inner sides of the forelegs and hind legs of the horse and on the forelegs of asses and zebras
6.
a. : an old usually stale joke or story
a comedy act trying to get by with nothing but chestnuts
b. : something repeated (as a generalization, a musical piece, or a play) or hashed over (as a philosophic problem or concept) very frequently especially to the point of staleness
Thursday's philharmonic program … contained a couple of … old chestnuts that could have been lent interest only by brilliant performances — Winthrop Sargeant
then tackle the age-old chestnuts — so traditionally chewed over that they have capitalized names: the Problem of Being, the Problem of Evil — Susanne K. Langer
7. Puerto Rico : breadfruit 1, 2
II. adjective
: of, relating to, or like chestnut or a chestnut ; especially : of the color chestnut