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buck-eye

 - 2 dictionary results

buck⋅eye

[buhk-ahy]
–noun, plural -eyes.
1. any of various trees or shrubs of the genus Aesculus, as A. glabra (Ohio buckeye), having palmate leaves, gray, scaly bark, and bell-shaped greenish-yellow flowers in upright clusters: the state tree of Ohio.
2. the brown nut of any of these trees.
3. (initial capital letter) a native or inhabitant of Ohio (used as a nickname).
4. a butterfly, Precis lavinia, having dark-brown wings with purple or red eyespots.

Origin:
1755–65, Americanism; buck 1 stag + eye, orig. used to designate def. 1, in allusion to the look of the seed
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Word Origin & History

buck-eye 
"American horse chestnut" (1763), said to be so called from resemblance to a stag's eye. Meaning "native of Ohio" is attested since 1822.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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