acorn

[ey-kawrn, ey-kern]

noun

1. the typically ovoid fruit or nut of an oak, enclosed at the base by a cupule.

2. a finial or knop, as on a piece of furniture, in the form of an acorn.

acorn

/ ˈeɪkɔːn /

noun

1. the fruit of an oak tree, consisting of a smooth thick-walled nut in a woody scaly cuplike base

Other Word Forms

• acorned adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of acorn¹

before 1000; Middle English acorne (influenced by corn ¹ ), replacing akern, Old English æcern, æcren mast, oak-mast; cognate with Old Norse akarn fruit of wild trees, Middle High German ackeran acorn, Gothic akran fruit, yield < Germanic *akrana-; alleged derivation from base of acre is dubious if original reference was to wild trees

Word History and Origins

Origin of acorn¹

C16: a variant (through influence of corn ) of Old English æcern the fruit of a tree, acorn; related to Gothic akran fruit, yield

Example Sentences

Why is it a bumper year for acorns?

From BBC

WILTON, Calif. — On a balmy day last week south of Sacramento, a group of women took turns grinding and preparing acorn flour, and then used fire-heated stones to cook it with water in woven baskets.

From Los Angeles Times

Their leaves feed caterpillars, their bark shelters bats and beetles, and their acorns sustain mammals and birds through the winter.

From BBC

How much longer would the world have black Spanish pigs, fed nothing but acorns and chestnuts?

From Los Angeles Times

The upper world is inhabited by celestial Sky People, such as Sun and Sky Coyote, whose peón gambling games affected the seasons for everything from harvesting acorns to hunting game.

From Los Angeles Times