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

It took a bit more nibbling, whisker stroking, and tail twitching to establish that by ekorn the fishermen meant squirrel, while eikenøtt seemed to be the Norwegian word for acorn.

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At Beowulf’s chirruping call, the little rodent scampered into the nursery and offered Penelope a great prize indeed: a single perfect acorn, carried with pride in those tiny, monkeylike paws.

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In the end she could not choose and asked Beowulf to gnaw marks into a pair of acorns so that she might roll them as dice and decide that way.

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A major issue is the expanding bear population, which is growing fast due to an abundance of food -- including acorns, deer and boars -- under the influence of a warming climate, experts say.

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Scientists say that bear numbers have grown in Japan in recent years thanks to an abundance of food such as acorns, deer and boars due to a warming climate.

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