Nearby Words

chest

[chest] Origin

chest

[chest]
noun
1.
Anatomy. the trunk of the body from the neck to the abdomen; thorax.
2.
a box, usually with a lid, for storage, safekeeping of valuables, etc.: a toy chest; a jewelry chest.
3.
the place where the funds of a public institution or charitable organization are kept; treasury; coffer.
4.
the funds themselves.
5.
a box in which certain goods, as tea, are packed for transit.
EXPAND
6.
the quantity contained in such a box: a chest of spices.
8.
a small cabinet, especially one hung on a wall, for storage, as of toiletries and medicines: a medicine chest.
COLLAPSE
9.
get (something) off one's chest, Informal. to relieve oneself of (problems, troubling thoughts, etc.) by revealing them to someone.
10.
play it close to the chest. vest (def. 16).

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Chest is always a great word to know.
So is temple. Does it mean:
a muscular and cartilaginous structure lined with mucous membrane at the upper part of the trachea in humans, where the vocal cords are located
the flattened region on either side of the forehead in humans

Origin:
before 900; Middle English; Old English cest, cist < Latin cista < Greek kístē box

chest·ful [chest-fool] , noun

celibate, chased, chaste, chest.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
chest (tʃɛst)
 
n
1.  a.  the front part of the trunk from the neck to the bellyRelated: pectoral
 b.  (as modifier): a chest cold
2.  informal get something off one's chest to unburden oneself of troubles, worries, etc, by talking about them
3.  a box, usually large and sturdy, used for storage or shipping: a tea chest
4.  Also: chestful the quantity a chest holds
5.  rare
 a.  the place in which a public or charitable institution deposits its funds
 b.  the funds so deposited
6.  a sealed container or reservoir for a gas: a wind chest; a steam chest
 
Related: pectoral
 
[Old English cest, from Latin cista wooden box, basket, from Greek kistē box]
 
'chested
 
adj

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

chest
O.E. cest "box, coffer," from P.Gmc. *kista, an early borrowing from L. cista, from Gk. kiste "a box, basket," from PIE *kista "woven container." Meaning extended to "thorax" 1530, replacing breast, on the metaphor of the ribs as a box for the organs. Chest of drawers is from 1599.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

chest (chěst)
n.
The part of the body between the neck and the abdomen, enclosed by the ribs and the breastbone; thorax.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Easton
Bible Dictionary

Chest definition


(Heb. _'aron_, generally rendered "ark"), the coffer into which the contributions for the repair of the temple were put (2 Kings 12:9, 10; 2 Chr. 24:8, 10, 11). In Gen. 50:26 it is rendered "coffin." In Ezek. 27:24 a different Hebrew word, _genazim_ (plur.), is used. It there means "treasure-chests."

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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American Heritage
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia

chest

the earliest form of container for storing clothes, documents, valuables, or other possessions, and the most important piece of furniture in the home until the 18th century. Chests with flat tops were also sometimes used as seats or beds

Learn more about chest with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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