Chinquapin

/ˈtʃɪŋkəpɪn/ noun

Definition

A small North American tree or shrub that produces edible nuts similar to chestnuts, or the nut itself.

Etymology

From Powhatan Algonquian 'chincamin' or similar. Early English colonists borrowed the word from Native Americans who had long harvested these nutritious nuts as a food source.

Kelly Says

Chinquapins were an overlooked food source that fed Native Americans for thousands of years—chestnuts got all the fame but chinquapins were just as nutritious and still grow wild today!

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