kernel

[kur-nl]

noun

1. the softer, usually edible part contained in the shell of a nut or the stone of a fruit.

2. the body of a seed within its husk or integuments.

3. a whole seed grain, as of wheat or corn.

4. South Atlantic States.,  the pit or seed of a peach, cherry, plum, etc.

5. the central or most important part of anything; essence; gist; core.

   His leadership is the kernel of the organization.

6. Mathematics.,  the set of elements that a given function from one set to a second set maps into the identity of the second set.

7. Also called rumpf. Physical Chemistry.,  the remainder of an atom after the valence electrons have been removed.

verb (used with object)

kerneled, kerneling , kernelled, kernelling .

1. to enclose as a kernel.

kernel

/ ˈkɜːnəl /

noun

1. the edible central part of a seed, nut, or fruit within the shell or stone

2. the grain of a cereal, esp wheat, consisting of the seed in a hard husk

3. the central or essential part of something

verb

1. rare,  (intr) to form kernels

kernel

1. A grain or seed, as of a cereal grass, enclosed in a husk.

2. The inner, usually edible seed of a nut or fruit stone.

Other Word Forms

• kernelless adjective
• kernelly adjective
• kernel-less adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of kernel¹

before 1000; Middle English kirnel, Old English cyrnel, diminutive of corn seed, corn ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of kernel¹

Old English cyrnel a little seed, from corn seed; see _corn ¹

Example Sentences

Hedge fund guys such as himself worked uptown and so exited Grand Central to the north, where taxis appeared haphazardly and out of nowhere to meet them, like farm trout rising to corn kernels.

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But first they have to get past a Cornhusker team missing its biggest kernel.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

She is merely a spectator, thinking kernels of thoughts that will be dashed into the mind’s chasm as her brain grows and develops.

Read more on Salon

A central kernel of the premise of “After the Hunt” is that you never know what someone is going through.

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If plant breeders can learn to trigger or replicate this activation of WUS-D1, it may be possible to create new wheat varieties that produce more kernels per plant.

Read more on Science Daily

Related Words

• fruit 
• grain 
• meat 
• morsel 
• nut