cornel

American  

[kawr-nl] / ˈkɔr nl /

noun

1. any tree or shrub of the genus Cornus; dogwood.

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cornel British  

/ ˈkɔːnəl /

noun

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

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Etymology

Origin of cornel

1400–50; late Middle English corneille < Middle French < Vulgar Latin *cornicul ( a ), equivalent to Latin corn ( us ) cornel + -i- -i- + -cula -cule ¹

Example Sentences

These are not illuminating; but "obsolete variant of kern" leads directly to "corn," and to "kernel," of which "cornel" is a disused form.

From Time Magazine Archive

And Kirke tossed them acorns, mast, and cornel berries—fodder for hogs who rut and slumber on the earth.

From "The Odyssey" by Homer

He protested: “Ah, Mordred, cornel Nay, we are not quarrelling with our King. There is no thought of that about it.”

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

Beyond it were slopes covered with sombre trees like dark clouds, but all about them lay a tumbled heathland, grown with ling and broom and cornel, and other shrubs that they did not know.

From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien

Foliage of exceptional beauty is the distinguishing trait of the trees in the cornel family, from the standpoint of the landscape gardener and the lover of the woods.

From Trees Worth Knowing by Rogers, Julia Ellen