Meanings
plural water chinquapins
- An American lotus (Nelumbo lutea), an aquatic plant found from Minnesota and Oklahoma to islands if the Caribbean.
The woman is next instructed to gather ceremonially the roots of the water chinquapin (Nelumbo lutea) for food for her little ones.
1925, Francis La Flesche, The Osage Tribe: the Rite of Vigil, Washington: USGPO, page 195 - The edible seed of this plant.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounwater lily of eastern North America having pale yellow blossoms and edible globular nutlike seeds
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
From water + chinquapin. The seeds are used for food like the nuts of the chinquapin.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
water chinquapin. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/water%20chinquapin
“water chinquapin.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/water%20chinquapin. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “water chinquapin,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/water%20chinquapin.
Source: water chinquapin on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.