chinquapin
Meanings
Plural: chinquapins
Noun
- shrubby tree closely related to the Allegheny chinkapin but with larger leaves; southern midwestern United States
- shrubby chestnut tree of southeastern United States having small edible nuts
- small nut of either of two small chestnut trees of the southern United States; resembles a hazelnut
- Any of certain species of tree in the chestnut genus Castanea:
- Allegheny chinkapin (Castanea pumila)
- Any of certain species of tree in the chestnut genus Castanea:
- Ozark chinkapin (Castanea ozarkensis)
- Any of certain species of tree in the chestnut genus Castanea:
- Chinese chinkapin (Castanea henryi)
- Any in the genus Castanopsis of trees.
- Any in the genus Chrysolepis of trees and shrubs.
- Quercus muehlenbergii, a tree whose leaves resemble those of chestnut-genus chinquapins.
- A water chinquapin, an aquatic plant of species Nelumbo lutea, American lotus.
- A redear sunfish, a freshwater fish of the southeastern US (Lepomis microlophus).
Origin / Etymology
Like its cognate / alternative form chinkapin, chinquapin is an alteration of chechinquamin / chincomen (the form found in early records), from an Algonquian language (sometimes said specifically to be from Powhatan). The final element is *mini (“berry, fruit”). Hewitt suggested that the first element was a word meaning "large, great" cognate to xinkw- (“big, large, great”).
Synonyms
Allegheny chinkapin, Castanea ozarkensis, Castanea pumila, cherry gill, chincapin, chinkapin, chinkapin oak, dwarf chestnut, eastern chinquapin, Georgia bream, improved bream, Ozark chinkapin, Ozark chinquapin, rouge ear sunfish, shellcracker, sun perch
Scrabble Score: 26
chinquapin is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL wordchinquapin is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
chinquapin is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary