American chestnut
1
5.7
- noun
- /əˈmɛrɪkən ˈʧɛstnət/
- US
:
castaño americano
- Before the arrival of chestnut blight, American chestnuts towered over eastern forests from Maine to Mississippi.
- American chestnut blight
- American chestnut tree
- once plentiful American chestnut
Examples
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Many forests in the eastern United States were once dominated by the American chestnut.
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Researchers are working to develop a blight-resistant American chestnut tree.
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The blight nearly wiped out the American chestnut in the twentieth century.
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The American chestnut tree can grow over 100 feet tall.
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Many people remember the American chestnut for its sweet nuts.
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The majestic American chestnut grew to heights of 100 feet or more.
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The once-plentiful American chestnut was prized for its delicious nuts and durable wood.
Synonyms
A large tree that loses its leaves each year, native to eastern North America and known as the American chestnut
A large tree from eastern North America that makes sweet edible nuts and useful wood
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is a straightforward adjective+noun composition: 'American' (from America) modifies 'chestnut' (a type of tree), so a learner who knows both words can infer it refers to a chestnut tree associated with America. Although it denotes a specific species, that specificity does not obscure the compositional meaning, and the same modifier+noun logic is common cross-linguistically.
Etymology
American chestnut is a simple place-and-object name: chestnut is a tree that makes tasty nuts and strong wood, and American tells you it grows in America. So the name means 'a chestnut tree from America'.