Meanings
plural chinquapins · alternative chinkapin · alternative chincapin
- Any of certain species of tree in the chestnut genus Castanea:
- 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.
Synonyms: chinkapin oak
- A water chinquapin, an aquatic plant of species Nelumbo lutea, American lotus.
- A redear sunfish, a freshwater fish of the southeastern US (Lepomis microlophus).
Synonyms: shellcracker, Georgia bream, cherry gill, chinkapin, improved bream, rouge ear sunfish, sun perch
Synonyms & antonyms
nounQuercus muehlenbergii, a tree whose leaves resemble those of chestnut-genus chinquapins.
nounA redear sunfish, a freshwater fish of the southeastern US (Lepomis microlophus).
More synonyms by meaning
nounshrubby tree closely related to the Allegheny chinkapin but with larger leaves; southern midwestern United States
nounshrubby chestnut tree of southeastern United States having small edible nuts
nounsmall nut of either of two small chestnut trees of the southern United States; resembles a hazelnut
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Algonquian
- Englishchinquapin
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”).
More words from Algonquian
Full word history & related roots →Translations
German Scheinkastanie
- Scheinkastanieshrub in the genus Castanopsis
Polish kasztan karłowaty
- kasztan karłowatyshrub in the genus Castanopsis
Cite this entry
chinquapin. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chinquapin
“chinquapin.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chinquapin. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “chinquapin,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chinquapin.
Source: chinquapin on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.