Chest·nut n.
 1. 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.
 2. The tree itself, or its light, coarse-grained timber, used for ornamental work, furniture, etc.
 3. A bright brown color, like that of the nut.
 4. The horse chestnut (often so used in England).
 5. One of the round, or oval, horny plates on the inner sides of the legs of the horse, and allied animals.
 6. An old joke or story. [Slang]
 Chestnut tree, a tree that bears chestnuts.


 chestnut tree
      n : any of several attractive deciduous trees yellow-brown in
          autumn; yield a hard wood and edible nuts in a prickly
          bur [syn: chestnut]


 Chestnut tree
    (Heb. _'armon_; i.e., "naked"), mentioned in connection with
    Jacob's artifice regarding the cattle (Gen. 30:37). It is one of
    the trees of which, because of its strength and beauty, the
    Assyrian empire is likened (Ezek. 31:8; R.V., "plane trees"). It
    is probably the Oriental plane tree (Platanus orientalis) that
    is intended. It is a characteristic of this tree that it
    annually sheds its outer bark, becomes "naked." The chestnut
    tree proper is not a native of Palestine.