horse chestnut
noun
- a deciduous tree with large leaves of five leaflets, conspicuous sticky winter buds, and upright conical clusters of white, pink, or red flowers. It bears nuts (conkers) enclosed in a fleshy case.
- Genus Aesculus, family Hippocastanaceae: several species, in particular A. hippocastanum, native east of the Balkans and widely planted
- another term for conker.
Origin:
late 16th century: translating (now obsolete) botanical Latin Castanea equina; its fruit is said to have been an Eastern remedy for chest diseases in horses