chinquapin

English

Alternative forms

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”).[1]

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /ˈt͡ʃɪnkəpɪn/
  • Audio (Southern England)(file)

Noun

chinquapin (plural chinquapins)

  1. Any of certain species of tree in the chestnut genus Castanea:
    1. Allegheny chinkapin (Castanea pumila)
    2. Ozark chinkapin (Castanea ozarkensis)
    3. Chinese chinkapin (Castanea henryi)
  2. Any in the genus Castanopsis of trees.
  3. Any in the genus Chrysolepis of trees and shrubs.
  4. Quercus muehlenbergii, a tree whose leaves resemble those of chestnut-genus chinquapins.
    Synonym: chinkapin oak
  5. A water chinquapin, an aquatic plant of species Nelumbo lutea, American lotus.
  6. A redear sunfish, a freshwater fish of the southeastern US (Lepomis microlophus).
    Synonyms: shellcracker, Georgia bream, cherry gill, chinquapin, improved bream, rouge ear sunfish, sun perch

Derived terms

Translations

References
  1. Bulletin 30 of the Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico: "Such forms as chincomen and chechinquamin, found in early writings, make plausible the supposition that a p was later substituted for an m in the last syllable of the word, which would then represent the widespread Algonquian radical min, 'fruit', 'seed'. The first component [...], according to Hewitt, is probably cognate with the Delaware chinqua, 'large', 'great'.
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