Langimage
English

conker

|con/ker|

B2

🇺🇸

/ˈkɑːŋkər/

🇬🇧

/ˈkɒŋkə/

game with horse chestnuts

Etymology
Etymology Information

'conker' originates from the English dialect word 'conch,' which referred to a snail shell used in the game.

Historical Evolution

'conch' transformed into 'conker' as the game evolved to use horse chestnuts instead of snail shells.

Meaning Changes

Initially, it referred to a snail shell used in a game, but over time it evolved to mean the horse chestnut used in the game.

Meanings by Part of Speech

Noun 1

a game played by children in which each has a horse chestnut (conker) on a string and takes turns trying to break the other's with it.

The children played conkers in the schoolyard.

Noun 2

the hard, shiny brown nut of the horse chestnut tree.

He collected conkers from the ground during autumn.

Last updated: 2025/02/01 18:11