water chestnut

noun

1. any aquatic plant of the genus Trapa, bearing an edible, nutlike fruit, especially T. natans, of the Old World.
2. the fruit itself.

water chestnut

noun

1. Also calledwater caltrop a floating aquatic onagraceous plant, Trapa natans, of Asia, having four-pronged edible nutlike fruits
2. Chinese water chestnut
   a Chinese cyperaceous plant, Eleocharis tuberosa, with an edible succulent corm
3. the corm of the Chinese water chestnut, used in Oriental cookery

Word History and Origins

Origin of water chestnut¹

First recorded in 1850–55

Example Sentences

Bouncy and springy, sharp with minced garlic chives, it is punctuated here and there with crisp bits of water chestnut.

From New York Times

Dangerous-looking fruit is from a water chestnut, a plant that has been part of our diet since Neolithic times.

From Scientific American

It also ensures that you will not go to prison for transporting water chestnut plants across state lines.

From Reuters

People who transport water hyacinths, alligator grass or water chestnut plants across state lines also would no longer face up to six months in prison.

From Reuters

Cornuelles, a variety of water chestnut that grow wild on the ponds in the Puisaye, were what Colette yearned to eat when she returned to Burgundy, but since this lowly food wasn’t on the menu at L’Hostellerie, the chef Raymond Olivier of Le Grand Vefour in Paris intervened on Colette’s behalf to ask Dumaine to prepare them for her.

From New York Times