cornel

[ kawr-nl ]

/ ˈkɔr nl /

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noun

any tree or shrub of the genus Cornus; dogwood.

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Origin of cornel

1400–50; late Middle English corneille<Middle French <Vulgar Latin *cornicul(a), equivalent to Latin corn(us) cornel + -i--i- + -cula-cule¹

Words nearby cornel

cornea, corneal reflex, corn earworm, corned, Corneille, cornel, Cornelia, cornelian, cornelian cherry, Cornelius, Cornell

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use cornel in a sentence

Tavis Smiley, the PBS talk show host and close friend to Cornel West, often credits West with having a “useable intellect.”
Cornel West’s Disappointing Decline|David Masciotra|October 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Cornel West and Jesse Jackson, for instance, have both suggested that Obama is somehow not black enough.
Obama Should Talk About Being Biracial|David Kaufman|January 20, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Others secretly agree with Cornel West and Tavis Smiley, who have been unremitting in their criticism of Obama on matters of race.
An Obama Campaign Photo That Looks Like a Young Republican Rally|Mansfield Frazier|April 10, 2012|DAILY BEAST
And one who denounced Harry Belafonte and Cornel West to boot!
Michael Tomasky: How Herman Cain’s Vanity Sank His Campaign|Michael Tomasky|December 1, 2011|DAILY BEAST

Plus, great thinkers from Cornel West to Robert Reich tell us what they're angry about.
America the Angry|Doug Schoen|June 4, 2011|DAILY BEAST
In autumn the cornel again becomes conspicuous in the woodlands by reason of its clusters of coral-red fruit.
North America|Israel C. Russell
The Dwarf Cornel, a little mountain-plant which flowers in July, is found in this 'hole.'
Yorkshire--Coast & Moorland Scenes|Gordon Home
Haply there lay a mound hard at hand, crowned with cornel thickets and bristling dense with shafts of myrtle.
The Aeneid of Virgil|Virgil
And then,” said Ulenspiegel, “having my soul free of guilt, I have no need to be washed with oak or rinsed with cornel.
The Legend of Ulenspiegel, Vol. II (of 2)|Charles de Coster
Her only ornaments were the creamy white blossoms of the low cornel; one cluster in the braids of her hair, and one on her bosom.
Saxe Holm's Stories|Helen Hunt Jackson

British Dictionary definitions for cornel

cornel

/ (ˈkɔːnəl) /

noun

any cornaceous plant of the genus Cornus, such as the dogwood and dwarf cornel

Word Origin for cornel

C16: probably from Middle Low German kornelle, from Old French cornelle, from Vulgar Latin cornicula (unattested), from Latin cornum cornel cherry, from cornus cornel tree

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