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Chinquapin

2 stages from Virginia Algonquian (Powhatan) to English.

Today it means a small tree of the chestnut family native to North America, or its edible nut

Where does the word "chinquapin" come from? It comes from Virginia Algonquian (Powhatan) chechinquamin, adopted directly into English (1610s).

chechinquamin→chinquapin

Virginia Algonquian (Powhatan) · pre-1620s

"a small edible chestnut-like nut"

named the small edible nut of a dwarf chestnut tree

English · 1610s

"a small native chestnut tree and its nut"

recorded by English colonists, including Captain John Smith, in early Virginia accounts

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