Etymology
The name Castanea is probably derived from the old name for the Sweet Chestnut, either in Latin or in Ancient Greek. Another possible source of the name is the town of Kastania in Thessaly, Greece; but it is more probable that the town took its name from the most common tree growing around it. Among the Mediterranean climate zone, chestnut trees are rarer in Greece because the chalky soil is not conducive to the tree's growth. Kastania is located on one of the relatively few sedimentary or siliceous outcrops. They grow so abundantly there, that their presence would have determined the place's name. Still others take the name as coming from the Greek name of Sardis glans (Sardis acorn) – Sardis being the capital of Lydia, Asia Minor, wherefrom the fruit had spread.
The tree's names are virtually identical in all the most ancient languages of Central Europe: in Breton kistinen for the tree, and kistin for its fruit, in Welsh castan-wydden and sataen, in Dutch kastanje for both the tree and its fruit, in Albanian gështenjë, and many others close to the French châtaigne and to the Latin name chosen for the genus.
The name is cited twice in the King James Version of the Bible. In one instance, Jacob puts peeled twigs in the water troughs to promote healthy offspring of his livestock. Although it may indicate another tree, all indicates that that fruit was a local staple food at that time.
The following synonyms are or have been in use: Fagus castanea (used by Linnaeus in first edition of Species Plantarum, 1753). Sardian nut. Jupiter's nut. Husked nut. Spanish Chestnut (U.S.).
Read more about this topic: Chestnut
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