corn

[kawrn]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR corn ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

Also called Indian corn; especially technical and British, maize. a tall cereal plant, Zea mays, cultivated in many varieties, having a jointed, solid stem and bearing the grain, seeds, or kernels on large ears.

the grain, seeds, or kernels of this plant, used for human food or for fodder.

the ears of this plant.

the edible seed of certain other cereal plants, especially wheat in England and oats in Scotland.

the plants themselves.

sweet corn.

corn whiskey.

Skiing. corn snow.

Informal. old-fashioned, trite, or mawkishly sentimental material, as a joke, a story, or music.

verb (used with object)

to preserve and season with salt in grains.

to preserve and season with brine.

to granulate, as gunpowder.

to plant (land) with corn.

to feed with corn.

Origin of corn

before 900; Middle English, Old English; cognate with Dutch koren, Old Norse korn, German Korn, Gothic kaúrn; akin to Latin grānum grain, Russian zernó

corn

[kawrn]

noun Pathology.

a horny induration or callosity of the epidermis, usually with a central core, formed especially on the toes or feet and caused by undue pressure or friction.

Origin of corn

1375–1425; late Middle English corne < Anglo-French, Middle French < Latin cornū horn, hence a horny hardening of the cuticle. See cornu

-corn

a combining form meaning “having a horn,” of the kind specified by the initial element: longicorn.

Origin of -corn

representing Latin -cornis horned

Corn.

Cornish.

Cornwall.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for corn

banality, bromide, platitude, egg, grain, nut, berry, corn, blister, abscess, bump, bruise, tumor, sore, welt, inflammation, injury, contusion, nodule, wheat

Examples from the Web for corn

Contemporary Examples of corn

I certainly found it very helpful when I realized we were going to have to grow our own corn.
Christopher Nolan Uncut: On ‘Interstellar,’ Ben Affleck’s Batman, and the Future of Mankind
Marlow Stern
November 10, 2014
That must have been some corn for her to remember it 50 years later!
Joan Rivers: The Playboy Bunnies Weren’t Sluts!
Patty Farmer
November 7, 2014
He is perfectly capable of introducing a bill requiring all cars to run on corn stalks instead of gasoline.
Up to a Point: In Defense of Lobbyists
P. J. O’Rourke
October 25, 2014
He helped set up an institute in Mexico aimed at improving wheat and corn production.
Growth Stocks
The Daily Beast
October 17, 2014
No matter what was on that flag—a white buttercup, a corn muffin, the skeleton of an alligator, who knows?
We've Got Bigger Problems Than a Confederate Flag
John McWhorter
August 28, 2014

Historical Examples of corn

He'll be the corn king all right by June 1st; don't make any mistake on that.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
Fortunately the corn was not generally housed, and much of that was saved.
A Sketch of the Life of Brig. Gen. Francis Marion
William Dobein James
We don't grow anything like corn enough for ourselves in the Cantal,' he said.
The Roof of France
Matilda Betham-Edwards
He had never forgiven the Shaman, you see, for that old story about the Corn Maiden.
The Trail Book
Mary Austin
Do not show yourselves ungrateful to the Corn by denying her servants their wages.
The Trail Book
Mary Austin

British Dictionary definitions for corn

corn

noun

British

any of various cereal plants, esp the predominant crop of a region, such as wheat in England and oats in Scotland and Ireland
the seeds of such plants, esp after harvesting
a single seed of such plants; a grain

Also called: Indian corn British equivalent: maize

a tall annual grass, Zea mays, cultivated for its yellow edible grains, which develop on a spike
the grain of this plant, used for food, fodder, and as a source of oilSee also sweet corn (def. 1), popcorn (def. 1)

the plants producing these kinds of grain considered as a growing cropspring corn
(in combination)a cornfield

short for corn whisky

slang an idea, song, etc, regarded as banal or sentimental

archaic, or dialect any hard particle or grain

verb (tr)

to feed (animals) with corn, esp oats

to preserve in brine
to salt

to plant corn on

Word Origin for corn

Old English corn; related to Old Norse, Old High German corn, Gothic kaúrn, Latin grānum, Sanskrit jīrná fragile

corn

noun

a hardening or thickening of the skin around a central point in the foot, caused by pressure or friction

tread on someone's corns British informal to offend or hurt someone by touching on a sensitive subject or encroaching on his privileges

Word Origin for corn

C15: from Old French corne horn, from Latin cornū

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for corn

n.1

"grain," Old English corn, from Proto-Germanic *kurnam "small seed" (cf. Old Frisian and Old Saxon korn "grain," Middle Dutch coren, German Korn, Old Norse korn, Gothic kaurn), from PIE root *gre-no- "grain" (cf. Old Church Slavonic zruno "grain," Latin granum "seed," Lithuanian žirnis "pea"). The sense of the Old English word was "grain with the seed still in" (e.g. barleycorn) rather than a particular plant.

Locally understood to denote the leading crop of a district. Restricted to the indigenous "maize" in America (c.1600, originally Indian corn, but the adjective was dropped), usually wheat in England, oats in Scotland and Ireland, while Korn means "rye" in parts of Germany. Maize was introduced to China by 1550, it thrived where rice did not grow well and was a significant factor in the 18th century population boom there. Cornflakes first recorded 1907. Corned beef so called for the "corns" or grains of salt with which it is preserved; from verb corn "to salt" (1560s).

n.2

"hardening of skin," early 15c., from Old French corne (13c.) "horn (of an animal)," later, "corn on the foot," from Latin cornu "horn" (see horn (n.)).

corn in Medicine

corn

[kôrn]

n.

A small conical callosity caused by pressure over a bony prominence, usually on a toe.clavus heloma