Grove Spelling Dictionary
a hard c

Does the qu say kw?

graft: letters 5, 6
Writtenchinquapin

CHINK-uh-pin

Not here. English qu usually says kw, and that expectation is what makes chinkwapin look reasonable, but a long list of words say it as a plain k instead: liquor, conquer, mosquito, piquant, lacquer. Chinquapin belongs with those. If you want the sound written honestly there is already a spelling for it, chinkapin, and it is a recognised variant that appears in the name of the chinkapin oak, Quercus muehlenbergii.

Other spellings of chinquapin

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